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sleeping_while_awake 's review for:
Absolutely on Music: Conversations with Seiji Ozawa
by Haruki Murakami
Absolutely on Music was initially published in Japan in 2011, but recently was translated into English. It's a non-fiction book that is mainly transcriptions of conversations between author Haruki Murakami and conductor Seiji Ozawa.
There are a few parts in which Murakami writes a related short narrative regarding Ozawa, so it's not a complete transcription all the way through.
They may talk about one piece of music, and how different conductors and soloists have variations in the performance.
I had never heard of Seiji Ozawa, but I couldn't name one conductor before this book, so I don't think that reflects at all on his popularity. A quick trip to his Wikipedia page shows a lot of experience and honor.
I barely know anything about music. I played the violin for a short time when I was a kid, but that's the extent of it.
What I learned from this book was that conducting is a lot more difficult than it seems. I just assumed that the musicians read the notes to know the timing and how to play, but it's a lot more nuanced than that. More on the level of a play, since a conductor can make plenty of variations. There are many judgement calls on how to perform something as the sheet music doesn't give all the information.
I did look up a lot of the musical performances that are referenced on Youtube. I was able to find more of them, and at the back of the book it does state there are some selections available on the publisher's website (I think). Made the reading interactive which was fun.
I was able to follow along rather well, even with my limited knowledge. Probably someone with classical music training would appreciate this book ever more.
If you're picking this up because you're a Murakami fan (my reason), you will still enjoy this, as there are a few narrative parts. It's different content from his books, but there the style remains.
There are a few parts in which Murakami writes a related short narrative regarding Ozawa, so it's not a complete transcription all the way through.
They may talk about one piece of music, and how different conductors and soloists have variations in the performance.
I had never heard of Seiji Ozawa, but I couldn't name one conductor before this book, so I don't think that reflects at all on his popularity. A quick trip to his Wikipedia page shows a lot of experience and honor.
I barely know anything about music. I played the violin for a short time when I was a kid, but that's the extent of it.
What I learned from this book was that conducting is a lot more difficult than it seems. I just assumed that the musicians read the notes to know the timing and how to play, but it's a lot more nuanced than that. More on the level of a play, since a conductor can make plenty of variations. There are many judgement calls on how to perform something as the sheet music doesn't give all the information.
I did look up a lot of the musical performances that are referenced on Youtube. I was able to find more of them, and at the back of the book it does state there are some selections available on the publisher's website (I think). Made the reading interactive which was fun.
I was able to follow along rather well, even with my limited knowledge. Probably someone with classical music training would appreciate this book ever more.
If you're picking this up because you're a Murakami fan (my reason), you will still enjoy this, as there are a few narrative parts. It's different content from his books, but there the style remains.