"The Lucy Variations," by Sara Zarr Leopold Mozart shuttled Wolfgang Amadeus around Europe for years, parading his son in front of endless royalty to secure commissions and performances. More than two centuries later, a bullying stage father helped propel the Chinese pianist Lang Lang to superstardom. But for every success story there are myriad classical musicians who burn out young. That appears to be the fate of the heroine of "The Lucy Variations," an elegant novel by Sara Zarr, a National Book Award finalist for "Story of a Girl" (2007). The beautiful 16-year-old Lucy boldly does what many young pianists on the competition circuit have probably fantasized about: at an important event in Prague she sits down at the piano, then walks away without playing a note. The main tyrant in Lucy's life is her maternal grandfather, the head of the wealthy Beck-Moreau family in San Francisco. After Lucy quits her blossoming career, her grandfather brands her "an entitled little brat," then focuses his attention on Gus, Lucy's good-natured 10-year-old brother, who is also a gifted pianist. The novel opens with the death of Gus's elderly piano teacher, Madame Temnikova, whom Lucy attempts to resuscitate with mouth-to-mouth. Stage fright: an opportunity to prove herself or a chance to fail. Which was nothing new for her. It just hadn't been a life-or-death issue until now. It's not the only time Lucy, a self-aware, self-critical student at a prestigious private high school, considers herself a failure. After her Prague walkout, she refuses to touch the piano again until she meets Will, the young and cool piano teacher hired for Gus. Will asks Lucy whether she still plays "for fun," "for yourself." She doesn't. At a party at Will's house for his musician friends, Lucy wonders what people are saying about her, perhaps that she is "a has-been. Or a spoiled brat in a $400 sweater who'd thrown away the life they would have treasured. Zarr vividly develops the title character, illuminating Lucy's teenage insecurities, her close and fractious friendships and the coming-of-age realization that she can pursue her dreams on her own terms. And she does, confronting her grandfather and performing publicly for the first time in almost a year. But she surprises the audience with a last-minute and unconventional choice of repertory. Will's motives for mentoring Lucy become clear. A promising concert pianist in his youth, he admits to seeing an opportunity to garner publicity for resurrecting the career of the famous Lucy Beck-Moreau. The thwarted ambitions of the adults in the story provide an interesting sub-theme, albeit one not always developed sufficiently. Lucy's mother, a pianist who also quit young after succumbing to the pressures of a career in music, could have been more fleshed out as a character. As Lucy is encouraged by Will to resume playing, she develops a seemingly mutual crush on him that arouses the suspicions of Will's wife, but aside from a few flirtatious text messages, the relationship stops short of inappropriate. Gus, of whom Lucy is fiercely protective, also becomes jealous of her friendship with Will. Despite her privileged background (the household includes a private chef), Lucy is a sympathetic character with a self-­deprecating, wry worldview. An independent young woman, she should win teenage hearts as a heroine who refuses to be used as a pawn to fulfill anyone else's need for glory or submit to a life plan not of her own making. What's the point of winning if you don't have a life? If you're miserable?" she asks her grandfather. When Lucy returns to music - on her own terms - she vows it won't be like before, "when she'd be too stressed to think about the beauty of the music, when she'd trudge to the piano like it was a punishment." It's a rewarding journey for readers as Lucy rekindles her passion for what had become - because of the relentless pressure to compete and "succeed" - an instrument of torture. Vivien Schweitzer writes about classical music for The Times.