An Incomplete History of the Art of the Funerary Violin is a 2006 book by Rohan Kriwaczek

Rohan Kriwaczek

Rohan Kriwaczek is a British writer, composer and violinist of part-Austrian descent. A former student of Peter Maxwell Davies, Oliver Knussen and Judith Weir, and prolific creator of classical works, scores for theatre, TV, and radio, he has become best known as "England's foremost authority on...

, purportedly tracing the lost history of funerary violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

. Contrary to its title, the book is a work of fiction and not an actual account of history.

Peter Mayer, the publisher of Overlook Press, doubted the veracity of the book and the history that it was said to contain; nevertheless, he agreed to publish it. Violin dealers and stringed instrument publications quickly refuted the existence of a musical genre

Genre

Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...

 called "funerary violin," as reported by the New York Times.

Defending his decision to publish the book, Mayer said:

I decided it didn't really matter to me how much of this was actually accurate. It was a life's work. [Kriwaczek] was dedicated to this guild not being forgotten, dedicated to the music. I decided this is just an amazing piece of work, and I wanted to publish it,... Who knows if it's true, but it's unbelievable reading.

Book stores that have agreed to stock the book are unsure how to categorize it. The book does not really belong in fiction because it is not a typical narrative, but the art history section would also be incorrect because much "historical" fact has been invented.

Kriwaczek argues that his book is neither a hoax

Hoax

A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...

nor an attempt to mislead. He issued a statement on October 5, 2006 saying that he wanted to "expand the notion of musical composition to encompass the creation of an entire artistic genre, with its necessary accompanying history, mythology, philosophy, social function, etc."