more like 3.5 -

I listened to the audio version with thanks to Netgalley and Archieboy audiobook.

Raised by intellectual parents Ma Sicong was accepted to the Paris Conservatory where he studied the violin and began composing at a young age. During the cultural revolution he was enticed to return to China and "make new Chinese music". He then led the first all-Chinese orchestra and was director of the Music School.

But the cultural revolution began and it was not about artists having freedom. After being reported on by his own students, he was locked away, sent back to the school and then tortured by his own students and then returned home. His daughter created the plan for the family to escape. They came to the United States and lived outside of Washington DC and then in Philadelphia. Yet the stories of the abuse, suicides and murders of his remaining family haunted him.

A harrowing tale of a peaceful man - a true artist.

'The King of Violins' is an extremely interesting portrait of the life, and achievements, of virtuoso violinist Ma Sicong. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Veleka Gray. I found it an absolutely fascinating insight into musical genius, but also the political history of China. I'm so glad that this brilliant man's life has been documented by M. G. Crisci and Cheng Ken Chi.

This was an interesting book that I listened to. I would have never learned some of the interesting things in this book that combined Chinese history and music. It is sad that to learn music students had to leave their home country. This is a story about devotion to family and love of music. Both are so beautiful.

This was a beautiful book to read and I truly enjoyed the history of the violin which is a beautiful instrument that I play and the reason why I wanted to read this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC!

I really enjoyed hearing the story of how "The King of Violins" came to be. It very much seems like it was destined to be. The book itself reads very easily and interestingly in the first person. Those interested in Chinese history and biography in general will enjoy this book.

This book was beautifully written with a strong life portrayed in a timely manner. I listened to the audiobook and the voice pulled me out of the story occasionally but I still felt very intrigued with the story and could not easily set it aside.
Memoirs are usually a little more theme based but I loved the action in this story.
I would highly recommend it to my followers and friends and family.

An amazing story about a Violin player, Ma Sciong who only wanted to play wonderful music but became entangled in the politics of China that decided one minute he was an asset and could do no wrong and when the politicians changed he was their enemy. I found Sciong journey with the violin very interesting especially the time he spent in Europe and felt part of something wonderful. I also like that America embraced Ma Sciong when his life was endangered and because of that he was able to bring his music here. I found it sad of all that Ma Sciong had lost in his life but it also sounds like he had wonderful moments that he appreciated and was happy with his playing and the people in his life.
I found listening to the audiobook enhance the story and made it more real and more inclusive. It is as though that person is in the room and telling you their story directly.

I want to thank BooksGoSocial Audio and NetGalley for an advance copy of this audiobook. It was an eye opening story.

4.5 stars
I thoroughly enjoyed this biography.
I listened to the audio version. The story is told in the first person from the POV of the subject, a male violin virtuoso. The narrator for this audiobook is a woman. For me, this did not work. I would rather hear a male voice speaking from the POV of a male subject. This is why I gave the audiobook 4.5 stars. Had I read a text version, I probably would have awarded it 5 stars.
This is a fascinating biography. In addition to the engrossing story of this man's life, the book included a lot of 20th century Chinese history. Relevant Chinese history from earlier periods was also presented to put situations into context.
The book read like a novel with plenty of excitement, tension, and a bit of romance. It was well researched and intelligently written. Although this is nonfiction, it was not dry and absolutely not boring.
I would recommend this to anyone interested in music and Asian history. Fans of historic fiction would probably also enjoy this biography.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I had never heard of Ma Sicong but wanted a new audio book and was interested in China during the Cultural Revolution.. It was captivating, opening with a short excerpt of Ma playing one of his pieces. Although written by his family, the story is told in the first person which makes it very personal and limits world events to how they affect Ma and his family and friends. Ma, as a teenager, was sent to study violin in Paris by his wealthy and political family. The cultural differences are very interesting together with the rise and fall of Chinese political factions. So much happens in Ma's life from becoming a world renowned violinist, to being friends with the highest in China, to being in one of Mau's re-education centres. I have since listened to some of his music which is beautiful especially as the book describes what they are about. So much packed into one short volume. As it is an audio version I wish excerpts of his music had been included when the pieces were described.
This is an honest review of a complementary ARC.

An interesting insight into Chinese history and culture in the 20th century. At times it is rather tedious with far too much detail about fairly insignificant things. I listened to the audiobook version which I found rather strange as a first person story of a Chinese male was narrated by an American woman. I have never come across the music of Ma Sicong.

Without the violin aspect, this could be any book relating to the politics of China. Someone knowledgeable in the pieces of music mentioned may have a different experience. The repeated pieces quickly became blah blah blah. A different narrator would make a difference between 3 and 3.5 stars. Ma's death chapter was confusing.

Thank you NetGalley for accepting my request to read and review The King of Violins.

A biography of Chinese musician and composer, Ma Sicong, his musical education in France and then rise to fame in China in the first half of the 20th century, his fall from grace during the cultural revolution, and his eventual escape from China. The book is based on Ma Sicong’s journals and family members’ input.

I listened to the audio version of this book, and while the narrator is very emotive it felt jarring to have a white American woman reading a Chinese man’s biography in first person. I really wish they had gotten a fluent Chinese speaker to be the narrator. The way this narrator pronounced the names I couldn’t distinguish when she was saying Ma Sicong or Mao Zedong! And that’s pretty important. Ma’s biography is interesting in that he was such a famous figure in China before the Cultural Revolution and was obviously inordinately musically talented. What a shame he is so little known in the West. His whole family seems to be/have been very gifted musically. His personal life was a somewhat a mess of his own making until his twilight years thanks to affairs that disrupted his relationship with his long-time girlfriend/pianist who he had several children with and later called wife. (I didn’t catch any mention that they ever actually got married, maybe they did?) What he went through in the Cultural Revolution before he escaped was eye-opening, and the way the US government helped him escape and how they milked their relationship with him was also interesting. I was glad I had already read The Last Boat out of Shanghai because although there’s brief history in this of Chinese politics and the role Taiwan and Hong Kong had for escapees of the Cultural Revolution, The Last Boat out of Shanghai does a very thorough and engaging job of relating it, and I was glad to have that knowledge to bring into this reading. The book, not the audio version, is recommended to those mature enough for the content interested in non-Western composers and musicians, and stories of escapees from the Cultural Revolution.

Notes on content [based on the ARC]: Just a very few minor swears. No sex scenes per se, though it does frankly talk about his affairs and why he didn’t marry his long time girlfriend for so long. The stories from the Cultural Revolution involve humiliating and degrading things that he and others were made to do, as well as killings and suicides during that time period. Ma’s father was killed and that is briefly related. One of Ma’s children turned him in during the Cultural Revolution and he cut off all ties to her. Desperate circumstances during WWII are briefly touched on.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.