The Black Violin is by Maxence Fermine.

Set in the 1700’s, in Italy and Venice.

The book is split into three parts. The first part is about a young violinist who is so fascinated by the sound of the instrument that he feels it can tell the story of his life. As he gets older he becomes very famous for his talent. The only thing that he hasn’t succeeded and/or finished doing is writing an opera. His whole life drastically changes due to war breakout.