Q&A with Nicole Conn

  

 

 

 

Nicole Conn is the author of the novel Descending Thirds. She is also a filmmaker.

 

Q: How much was Descending Thirds inspired by your mother’s life story?

 

A: The emotional heart of the novel was deeply inspired by my mother, Christa Hoven, who was a classical pianist and teacher.

 

Music was present in my life from the very beginning. My father bought her a new piano the day after I was born, and she often joked that the moment we came home from the hospital, she tossed me into a crib beside it and played.

 

Years later, I would lie beneath her piano, absorbing the vibrations, entranced and mesmerized by all of it which became a scene in the novel. Music truly became part of my DNA.

 

One of my favorite parts of the research was sharing recordings of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition with her. We raced through every episode together, and those experiences became the foundation for the opening of the novel.

 

I was fascinated by how the characters would unfold during the tension-filled three weeks of competition, where a single performance could transform a struggling pianist's career. Those memories of watching those shows with her are especially precious now that she has passed.

 

While Descending Thirds is not my mother's story, her love of music, her devotion to her students, and the way she experienced the world through music shaped every page. In many ways, the novel became my love letter to her.

 

Q: Did you need to do much research to write the book, and if so, what did you learn that especially surprised you?

 

A: I spent several years researching the world of elite piano competitions, composers, and concert pianists back in the day where it was reading from actual books with copious notes.

 

Much of that research began with those Van Cliburn recordings and eventually expanded into biographies, interviews, performances, and the insights into many famous and more obscure composers. The Van Cliburn competition is held but every four years upping the ante and risks.

 

What surprised me most was the enormous psychological pressure placed on these young musicians. The public sees the glamour and artistry, but behind the scenes are years of sacrifice, isolation, and relentless discipline.

 

Many competitors are asked to perform at a level that would challenge even seasoned professionals while still in their teens or early 20s. I became fascinated by the emotional cost of greatness and how ambition can both elevate and consume us.

 

Q: How did you create your characters Alexandra, Sebastian, and Conrad, and how would you describe the dynamic among them?

 

A: The three characters represent three very different relationships to art. Alexandra came first. In many ways she is my straight alter ego. She leads with her heart. For her, music is first and foremost an emotional experience. Technique matters, of course, but only in service of expressing something truthful and deeply felt.

 

Sebastian and Conrad became two opposing forces acting upon her. Sebastian is charismatic, passionate, and magnetic. He thrives on performance, attention, and the intoxicating energy that exists between artist and audience. Conrad is his opposite—quiet, introspective, a genius savant indifferent to recognition. He writes music because he must. It is as natural to him as breathing.

 

As I wrote the novel, I began to think of them as a modern-day Dionysus and Apollo. One embodies passion, instinct, and sensuality; the other discipline, order, and transcendent beauty. What interested me wasn't simply a romantic triangle, but what happens when Alexandra encounters these competing philosophies of art and life.

 

Ultimately, Descending Thirds is Alexandra's story. Through her relationships with both brothers, she discovers not only who she loves, but who she is, what kind of artist she wants to become, and what role music will ultimately play in her life.

 

Q: Did you know how the story would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: I knew the major emotional destination from the beginning, but the journey changed many times. Descending Thirds began life as a screenplay before it became a novel and served as an excellent outline for the book.

 

What surprised me most was how much deeper the characters became once I moved into the novel form. A screenplay allows you to observe a character. A novel allows you to live inside them. Alexandra, Sebastian, and Conrad all revealed aspects of themselves that I hadn't fully understood when I first conceived the story.

 

When I wrote the screenplay, there was one major reveal. While writing the novel, I discovered a second revelation that changed everything and ultimately made the story far stronger. It was one of those rare moments where the characters seemed to know more than I did and I wasn’t about to second guess them!

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: At the moment, much of my attention is focused on introducing readers to Descending Thirds and its recently released audiobook which features musical snippets to help introduce the reader to classical music and to enhance the experience.

 

I am also developing the story as a limited television series, which feels like a natural return to the medium where the project first began.

 

Beyond that, I have my next feature film, do we not grieve, in early development. I also have another novel, Armand's Tango, which I hope to bring out sometime next year.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: At its core, Descending Thirds is a novel about passion—our passion for art, for excellence, and for one another. While it unfolds against the backdrop of classical music and international piano competitions, it is ultimately a searing triangular love affair.

 

Individually each character grapples with family, obsession, sacrifice, and the choices that shape our lives. It asks a question that fascinated me throughout the writing process: What is the true price of greatness? And what is the cost for true greatness.

 

My greatest hope is that readers don't need to know anything about classical music to be swept away by the story. Like all great music, the emotions are universal.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb