The Schumann Proof

By Peter Schaffter

Vikkan Lantry, a pianist with more talent than ambition, is content with his job at an upscale cocktail lounge until a request from reclusive soprano, Ulrike Vogel, draws him grudgingly back into the world of classical music. Ulrike's mysterious past, and her friendship with elderly Viennese piano teacher, Dieter Mann, usher Vikkan into an intrigue that begins in the nineteenth century with an unknown song cycle composed by Robert Schumann, and ends in the present-day with a grisly double murder. As Vikkan probes the layers of deceit obscuring a killer's identity, The Schumann Proof reveals itself to be a study in ambition gone awry. The theme is hardly new, but The Schumann Proof gives it a fresh slant, examining not only the devastating results of too much seeking after personal glory, but the painful consequences of too little.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1894917065
• ISBN13: 9781894917063
• Release Date: November 2004
• Publisher: RendezVous Press
• Length: 344 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.7" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

Ambition is the matrix by which Schaffter unveils the world of classical music

Peter Schaffter is a multi-talented genius. He studied at the Royal Conservatory; received the BMI Scholarship for excellence in composition and The Percy Faith Award after studying at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Music. As if this wasn't enough, he also studied German and received a minor in cinema studies. He supported himself as a lounge pianist at Toronto's upscale McGill Club. Vikkan Lantry is recovering from the suicide of his lover. After fleeing Toronto, he returns to find that many people love him and want to help him. He connects with one of his old but revered teachers, Elly Gardiner, whose quiet but insistent demands lead to an accompanying job with a famous soprano making a comeback. This performance leads to a master class with an octogenarian pianist, who recognizes Vikkan's talent. Dieter Mann is looking for the perfect soprano and accompanist for a performance of an apparent Schumann Liederkreis, or love song, and finds it in Vikkan as accompanist and another student with a pure soprano voice named Laura Erskine: "I doubt that had I been in Laura's place-sight-reading a recently discovered masterpiece in front of a world-renowned teacher-I could have sung with so much confidence. An accompanist can, if necessary, hide nerves and apprehension behind the main performer. Laura didn't have that option, but if anything, her singing sounded more assured, her voice more vibrantly electrifying, than I'd ever heard before. A couple of times, it raised the hair on the back of my neck." Schaffter's writing is astonishing. This is a first novel, and it is more polished than many authors achieve after a lifetime of writing. Of course he is writing of things in which he has proprietary achievements. But the sensitivity that he brings to his writing draws the reader into his story of the world of music in a way that is understandable to the uninitiated. His plot is first-rate; his characters so true to the world of music that the reader feels thoroughly educated by the end of the book. The murders are true whodunits, and the reader is pulling for Vikkan throughout, only pausing to try to turn the pages fast enough to keep up with Schaffter's intellect. Ambition is the matrix by which Schaffter unveils the world of classical music. Wow! Shelley Glodowski Senior Reviewer

A Revue of "The Schuman Proof"

This first book deserves extra consideration. It is a murder mystery, but the style is worthy of any plot. The occassional (translated) German word has a piquant effect. Those who enjoy Anne Rice's ability to evoke time and place will remember this author.

And now for something completely different

There's a quote on the back cover of this book that says, "Not your usual whodunnit." Very true. If you've had it with cat detectives, L.A. private eyes, Agatha Christie wannabes and serial killers, here's something truly new yet with due respect for traditional mysteries. The story revolves around the world of classical music--but not what we usually see, the glitz and the temperamental divas. This is the working stiff's side of it. The hero accompanies vocal students when he's not jazzing it up in a trendy restaurant/piano bar. The characters are extremely well drawn, as are the locations. It's the kind of novel you live, rather than just read. The writing is scrumptious--as rich as James Lee Burke, mercifully without pecan trees. There's also a creepy old building, a mysterious manuscript, and even a love affair. As well, of course, as the puzzle of whodunnit. Who could ask for more?