It's doubtful former New York Times reporter-turned-Columbia University journalism professor Ari Goldman (The Search for God at Harvard) set out to produce a self-help manual when he began this engaging account of his return to playing the cello after a hiatus of more than two decades. Still, it will be a surprise if his story doesn't inspire at least a few readers to find a long-abandoned musical instrument and prove that their investment--whether of money or time--will bear fruit.
For seven years ending in the early 1980s, Goldman studied cello under Heinrich Joachim, who became something of a surrogate father. In 2009, inspired by his youngest son Judah's gift for the instrument, Goldman joined the titular orchestra, an organization "founded on the premise that serious music isn't only for the accomplished musician." Joachim's influence pervades his former student's dogged struggle to attain a semblance of proficiency. Goldman's goal is to perform a recital on his 60th birthday, an event he recounts with the same modesty that marks the rest of this story. He introduces a bevy of intriguing characters he meets in the LSO, while sharing tidbits on the history of the instrument, playing technique and the pure joy of bringing music to life.
Goldman cites studies that extol the myriad benefits felt by older people who engage in musical training. As his contemporaries move into retirement, he writes, "their quest for learning, meaning, growth and attention is unabated." This warmhearted book reaffirms the truth that their satisfaction will lie in making that journey, much more so than in reaching a destination. --Harvey Freedenberg, attorney and freelance reviewer