While the Music Lasts

Contemporary fiction from Alice McVeigh.

ISBN: 978-1-9168823-4-8

Publication: September 2022

Editions: Ebook

The Secret Life of an Orchestra

“This portrayal of the psychosexual duet between men and women, and of the music-making process in a symphony orchestra, sings with lyrical intensity and eloquent feeling” (Publishers Weekly)

Life in the (fictional) Orchestra of London as seen through the eyes of several musicians. Perfectly representing the disparate attitudes, feelings and ambitions of a symphony orchestra full of crazy musos, it brilliantly weaves together affairs, musical jealousies, a misdirected love letter, and an unusual codicil to a will.

Originally “big-five”-published, this is based upon Alice’s previous life as a London freelance cellist, performing all over the world with orchestras including the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic.

“The orchestra becomes a universe in microcosm – all human life is here” (The Sunday Times)

“A very enjoyable novel – and not quite as light as it pretends to be.” (The Sunday Telegraph)

Awards

Honorable Mention: Writer’s Digest International Book Awards, in contemporary fiction, 2022

Reviews for While the Music Lasts

“While the Music Lasts' characters rise and fall to McVeigh’s superbly controlled conductor's baton. The orchestra becomes a universe in microcosm; all human life is here . . . McVeigh succeeds in harmonising a supremely comic tone with much darker notes.”

“McVeigh is a professional cellist and is thus able to describe with wry authority the extraordinary life of a London orchestra. This is a very enjoyable novel, and not quite as light as it pretends to be.”

“This is an intense and intriguing novel that gives a sense of the throbbing heart of an orchestra. For Radio 3 listeners, it is unmissable.”

“The author is a professional cellist and a highly intelligent novelist. In the hothouse atmosphere of a group welded together but battered by individual stresses, relationships blossom and painfully disintegrate. Almost as enraptured by the sensuous sound of words as by music itself, McVeigh spins her sentences across the page, carrying the reader with them.”

“McVeigh's captivating, witty debut offers uncanny insights into music, love, and the human heart. Her portrayal sings with lyrical intensity and eloquent feeling.”

“Aspiring authors are advised to write about a subject they know, but few will match Alice McVeigh's accomplishment here. She is a freelance cellist playing with numerous orchestras, including the BBC Symphony. Orchestral life must have been an obvious choice for her, but who would guess the backstage life of a symphony orchestra would provide such a gem of a book? . . . McVeigh writes amusingly but with authority about the chaotic life of a London orchestra. Even for readers with no interest in music, she entertainingly reveals all aspects of life.”

“Brilliant! This is a book everyone interested in orchestras should read.”

Alice McVeigh

Official website of the novelist

While the Music Lasts

The Secret Life of an Orchestra

Awards

Reviews for While the Music Lasts

Other books by Alice

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Alice McVeigh

Official website of the novelist

ALICE McVEIGH