The Ensemble

by Aja Gabel
This is a debut novel about a classical music quartet.  It is about the lives, conflicts and success of the quartet.  The most powerful part of the book is that the four people, Jana, Brit, Daniel and Henry develop a powerful friendship and connection amongst themselves that it seems to take precedence over all other relationships.  None of them have much of a relationship with their respective families, the quartet seems to become their created family.
The members of the quartet are very focused on career success, especially the leader Jana.  They all work hard to succeed and are very competitive in the classical music scene.  But not is all sweetness and light, there are internal jealousies (Daniel is resentful of the prodigy Henry, and later when Henry manages to have a life in the quartet but also a married life and family.... he resents that Henry seems to have everything come easy to him).
The strong hold that the quartet has on them is portrayed in an interesting way.  Henry is wooed by an agent to become a solo artist.  He turns it down feeling commitment to the quartet. Even though Henry's good fortune runs out when he develops some serious medical issues and is urged to give up performing he sticks with the group
Daniel and Brit have on again off again relationships.  At one point they break up and Daniel marries a girl totally unsuited to him.  The marriage doesn't last and in the end Brit and Daniel get back together. Jana also has an affair but her commitment to the quartet outways the relationship.
The author brilliantly portrayed the interactions that occur as the members of the quartet play and how they respond to each other to create incredible music.
In some ways the characters were frustrating because they were all so self-absorbed both in their music and themselves.
"We laid a perasive claim on one another.  On our hearts....We weren't yet full people but we were required to pretend to be. We thought that together we could pretent to be until we were.... We found it to be, if not pleaurable, alive.  We found each other to be amenable and willing and calling and then insistent and hungry and answering.  We found each other."  They fought, they cried together or about each other but they were there for each other always.
A very powerful, complext story.