Scan barcode
A review by qmanray
Absolutely on Music: Conversations with Seiji Ozawa by Haruki Murakami
4.0
the in depth orchestra talk went over my head but still really cool & made me appreciate classical music/conducting alot more. two very insightful people!
2 cool quotes-
OZAWA: Even at my age, you change. And practical experience keeps you changing. This may be one of the distinguishing features of the conductor's profession. The work itself changes you. Of course the one thing that any conductor has to do is to get sounds out of the orchestra. I read the score and create a piece of music in my mind, after which I work with the orchestra members to turn that into actual sound, and that process gives rise to all kinds of things. There are the interpersonal relationships, of course, and also the musical judgments you make when you decide which particular points of the work you want to emphasize. There are times when you look at the music and really focus on the long phrases, and, conversely, times when you split haits over the tiny phrases. You also have to decide which of these various tasks you are going to favor. Each of these experiences will change a conductor. I got sick, went into the hospital, and stayed away from conducting for a long time. But then recently I went to New York and had a burst of conducting. Then I came back to Japan, and because I had nothing else to do at New Year's, I listened to recordings of those Saito Kinen performances over and over again.
I learned a lot from them. (226)
MURAKAMI: It's true in just about any field in Japan.
Maybe even in writers circles. People can't do anything until they've gauged the opinions of the other people present. They look around, they absorb the atmosphere, and only then do they raise their hands and say something unobjectionable. That way, there's no progress where it matters, and the status quo becomes set in stone. (320)
2 cool quotes-
OZAWA: Even at my age, you change. And practical experience keeps you changing. This may be one of the distinguishing features of the conductor's profession. The work itself changes you. Of course the one thing that any conductor has to do is to get sounds out of the orchestra. I read the score and create a piece of music in my mind, after which I work with the orchestra members to turn that into actual sound, and that process gives rise to all kinds of things. There are the interpersonal relationships, of course, and also the musical judgments you make when you decide which particular points of the work you want to emphasize. There are times when you look at the music and really focus on the long phrases, and, conversely, times when you split haits over the tiny phrases. You also have to decide which of these various tasks you are going to favor. Each of these experiences will change a conductor. I got sick, went into the hospital, and stayed away from conducting for a long time. But then recently I went to New York and had a burst of conducting. Then I came back to Japan, and because I had nothing else to do at New Year's, I listened to recordings of those Saito Kinen performances over and over again.
I learned a lot from them. (226)
MURAKAMI: It's true in just about any field in Japan.
Maybe even in writers circles. People can't do anything until they've gauged the opinions of the other people present. They look around, they absorb the atmosphere, and only then do they raise their hands and say something unobjectionable. That way, there's no progress where it matters, and the status quo becomes set in stone. (320)