The Diary of Ma Sicong (1937) – I compose my most famous work, Nostalgia, as a young man.

While my father and my older brothers were involved in the day’s complicated politics, I was consumed with my passion for the violin.

While studying with the finest musical professors at the world-famous Conservatory of Music in Paris, I wrote my first symphony at the age of 13 and was labeled a child prodigy.

Soon, my reputation grew to include China, and there were sold-out concerts whenever I performed. The fact that I was a handsome young man with an eye for the ladies became part of my persona. To use American phraseology, before long, I was a “classical rock star!”
At 26, I wrote what would be my seminal work, The Mongolian Suite. If you read the story of my life, you’ll learn more about the inspiration behind the composition. The second bittersweet movement, Nostalgia, is epic and heartfelt, not unlike the American masterwork, God Bless America. I take great pride in the fact that Nostalgia is the most well-known classical composition in China’s 5,000-year history.

Although, as you will learn, that was not always so!

Read The King of Violins: The Extraordinary Life of Ma Sciong, China’s Greatest Violin Virtuoso by M.G. Crisci and Cheng Ken Chi, Ph.D., the heartbreaking story of China’s most celebrated violin prodigy, Ma Sicong, who composes his first concerto at the age of 12, becomes China’s most celebrated violin prodigy, and ultimately an enemy of the state.

“A perfectly balanced symphony that honors truth and dignity. You’ll feel as though you are sitting on Ma’s shoulder as his complicated life unfolds.”
– US Review of Books

“Remarkable. The bittersweet story of Ma Sicong’s dignified, often tumultuous life, and the way it was told, left me feeling I had met Ma–and was better because of it.”
– Independent Book Review

“The King of Violins is a must-read that will stay with you. It’s filled with so many involving themes and surprising twists that you’ll become engrossed trying to figure out what might be coming next.”
– International Review of Books