It is the thirties in Montreal when, at a tender age, Gloria Foster falls in love with the piano. The thrill of playing, of being carried down the river of music (a phrase repeated too often), quickly becomes the singular focus of everything she does.

Her first piano is a gift from her absent father, a man who is either away working or fighting in a war, and then, after the war, a hospitalized invalid she rarely sees. Her relationship with men vis-à-vis the piano, however, is set for life. Hereafter, the piano will always come first.

While the life of a prominent pianist can often be romanticized, Soderstrom reveals that a dedicated musician must choose a ruthless existence if determined to become a virtuoso. Having been raised by an oft-absent single mother, Gloria learns early on to hold her own council and to persist in order to get what she wants. Her road is difficult – there is gruelling poverty as she perfects her skills in Paris, endless hours of practice, and, when famous, the punishing concert circuit. But she is certain any sacrifice is necessary. Tenacious and utterly self-absorbed, Gloria has no compunction about using and discarding people, including her own children and the various men who move through her life.

As a young woman, Gloria had been told by her neighbour that her lifeline suggested she would have one abiding and great love, and we are led to believe it might be Pierre, who keeps appearing for one night stands. But by the end of River Music, the reader understands that the only thing Gloria has loved all her life is the piano and the music she makes on it. Her eldest child, Frances, sums it up succinctly: “Don’t forget that to make a musical career you’ve got to be so tough that you’d sell your first born to get ahead.”

River Music is a thought-provoking guide to how musical tastes have changed over the decades. From Bach through Debussy to Claude Vivier, who is woven into the story, Gloria takes us on a journey in pursuit of those elusive elements that make music such an integral part of life. As a result, I found myself going to YouTube to hear some of the work described.

To her credit, Soderstrom deftly interweaves Gloria’s determination to succeed with her failure to see the people in her life as anything more than scores to be interpreted and used to further her career. Ultimately, however, the book leaves the reader wanting something more from Gloria, whose greatest asset – her musical talent – is unavailable to us. Perhaps if we could hear her play, we might forgive Gloria her cold heart. mRb