“We were the dreamers of dreams, the singers of songs. We were the music makers. We would not hear nor play nor love without each other. This is a prelude to our experience, an overture to who we were and how we arrived on the shores of friendship.”
Beginning in 1939 prewar Prague, While the Music Played focuses on the story of young Max Mueller, a curious bright romantic—a budding musician, … romantic—a budding musician, piano tuner, and nascent journalist. Max is on the cusp of adolescence when the Nazi influence invades Prague’s tolerant spirit with alarming speed as he struggles to understand the changing world around him. When his father, noted German conductor Viktor Mueller, is conscripted into the German army and finds himself increasingly promoting the Nazi message, Viktor’s best friend, noted Czech composer Hans Krása, protests the occupation in every way he can.
As everyone Max loves is compromised by intolerable conditions, he becomes increasingly isolated, and is forced to find his own way. With each step, Max’s journey grows more conflicted. Music is the one constant connecting him to both the lost childhood he cherishes and the man he still hopes to become. But will it be enough to sustain him against the relentless Nazi threat?
With a seamless blend of historical and fictional characters, told from multiple points of view, and sweeping across the capitals of Prague, London, and Berlin as World War II ravages Europe, this meticulously researched book is unique with its diverse and interweaving narratives, threaded with news accounts, and encompassing some of the most triumphant and devastating moments of the war—from the opera houses of Berlin to the music halls of London and the making of the famous children’s opera Brundibár.
While the Music Played is a lyrical, absorbing, and heartbreaking story of love and courage from the widely revered and bestselling author Nathaniel Lande.
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Good for reference.
It was an excellent presentation of the time before and during WWII when Hitler had bamboozled the German people. Certainly was an eye opener – very relevant to the current situation in the USA.
Excellent WW11 Book about the musicians who were imprisoned inConcentration
Camps! Heart wrenching! Never Again
This is a beautifully written, well researched novel about WWII told through the eyes of Max who is a teenager when the novel begins but becomes part of the resistance as the Nazi regime takes over his country. Max and his friends and family all connect through music – at times it is the only way they can keep their sanity in their world gone crazy.
1939 in Prague – Max Mueller lives with his father Viktor, a world famous conductor. He isn’t Jewish but has been taught to respect everyone no matter what their religion or heritage. He and his father are very close and his father has instilled the love of music into him and he has become a pianist and is a piano tuner on the side. The two most important people in his life are his best friend David and the girl he is falling in love with, Sophie. As the Nazis invade Prague and change the life that Max has always known, the truths that he has carried since childhood come into conflict. His father gets drafted into the German Army and becomes friends with a high ranking Nazi. As their friend ship continues, Viktor gets more involved in the Nazi party and helping them with their propaganda. Max is confused by this change in his father who had always taught him to be accepting of everyone and he begins to rely more on his friends. After both David and Sophie are sent to live in Terezin which was referred to as a spa area but was actually one of the first concentration camps. Max goes there to live outside the camp through the help of his father’s Nazi cronies but he goes into the camp as much as possible to spend time with David and Sophie and to help them and others where he can. This camp was known for known for its relatively rich cultural life, including concerts, lectures, and clandestine education for children. As conditions worsen and people start to disappear on the trains to Auschwitz, Max and David know that the only way there can stay alive is to escape…but is it even possible?
I read a lot of WWII fiction and found this one exceptional. The writing is beautiful, the friendship between Max, David and Sophie is very honest and real and the way that music ties everything together throughout the novel was outstanding. This is a WWII novel that I will long remember. Be sure to have tissue close at hand while you read this book.
Note: Be sure to read the author’s notes at the end to see which of the characters in the novel are based on real people and their effect on WWII.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
Kudos to Nathaniel Lande, author of “While The Music Played” for writing such a poignant, unforgettable, heartbreaking, and emotional book. The genre for this novel is Historical Fiction, and this is ” A Remarkable Story of Courage and Friendship in WWII.”(cover) The timeline for this story is just before World War Two in 1939 Praque, and then during the war. This is a coming of age book during a tragic and devastating time in history. The author describes many of his characters as courageous, brave, and talented. There are characters that are also very evil. Some of the described settings are in Concentration Camps.
I appreciate that Nathaniel Lande vividly describes his characters and events, and the influence of music and art during this time. The music and art live long after the characters are gone, but not forgotten. The Arts provide historical documentation of sorts. There is clearly a tremendous amount of research that has been done in preparation for this book.
Max Mueller is almost a teenager, has a distinct ear for piano tuning, and has a desire to be a newspaper reporter. His father Viktor Mueller is a renowned conductor. Many of Max’s friends are Jewish. As Nazism spreads, and Max’s father is sent into the German Army, Max becomes conflicted and confused. His father’s friend, Hans Krasa, a famous Czech composer and influences some of what Max is thinking. Max doesn’t understand the discrimination, antisemitism, and hatred that surrounds him. Music is one thing that seems to keep Max grounded. As the German Nazi’s take over, Max has to deal with deceit, destruction, damage, and grief.
I would recommend this heartbreaking novel to those readers who read Historical Fiction and appreciate a thought-provoking book. Be sure to have some Kleenex on hand.
While The Music Played by Nathaniel Lande is arguably one of the best works of historical fiction I have encountered. This novel treats the Nazi occupation from the perspective of our main characters who are caught in Prague as the city falls.
The character development is outstanding, from the flamboyant and fictional orchestral conductor (the Great) Victor Mueller, to the occasionally human yet mostly cold blooded (and real) Nazi SS man Reinhard Heydrich. This work plays heavily on one’s emotions as the author exquisitely expresses the fear and hope of those impacted by Nazi oppression. Author Lande beautifully links our characters by the hope that endures and is shared in each of them from their love of music.
At the center of it all is a gut wrenching story of father and son, father doing his best to protect his beloved son while undoubtedly feeling the panic that comes from facing increasingly uncontrollable evil. Adding to the novel’s realism (and enjoyment) are wonderful period references to cultural fabric in Allied England and America as well as an important development of one character’s close friendship with Winston Churchill.
The other aspect of the book that I found enjoyable was the detail given to explaining the Nazi occupation from the point of view of the Czech Resistance (which I had previously known nothing about, but I’m now inspired to learn more). All in All, this book expertly brings to life its subject matter consistent with one of my favorite movies: Roberto Benigni’s 1997 film “Life is Beautiful”.