The Gift

Even as a child, Ella Rosen's remarkable gift as a pianist is evident to all those who hear her play. Surely she will go on to a career as a celebrated concert pianist. Then, as a teenager, she discovers the work of Clara Schumann and is overwhelmed by a profound sense of kinship with the composer whose music was overshadowed by that of her husband, Robert. Clara, she learns, apparently came to believe that she possessed no creative talent of her own, and that therefore she should devote her life to supporting her husband's career and to interpreting the works of others.

Following the birth of her daughter, Ella's life takes a course that appears to be even more self-denying than that of her musical heroine. A single mother, working as a music teacher in the north of England, Ella leads the quietest of lives. When, in her mid-forties, she falls seriously ill, it would seem that her life will have passed all but unnoticed. By chance, she encounters another woman who has reached the conclusion that she, too, lacks any creative talent. As their friendship develops, however, and Ella comes to share her views on life and music with her new friend, a new light is cast both on the distinction between creative and interpretative talent, and on what constitutes a significant life.