Average customer rating:
- Very Interesting
- Too Careless
- A very underrated book, although some of reviewer criticisms are quite valid
- Brilliant melodies, gorgeous prose
- A Great Book on the Psychology of Music
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Music, the Brain, and Ecstasy: How Music Captures Our Imagination
Robert Jourdain
Manufacturer: William Morrow & Co
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ASIN: 0688142362 |
Amazon.com
What is music? How and why does it affect us? What is the nature of musical genius? Author/composer Robert Jourdain explores these and other questions, from the essential nature of sound through composition, performance, and, finally, the nature of ecstasy. His prose is eminently readable, offering a very accessible account of a difficult subject to the general reader as well as to the musical sophisticate. This is a fascinating and intriguing book, written by someone who clearly knows his subject.
Book Description
Bringing together discoveries from neurophysiology, psychology, music theory, and philosophy, Robert Jourdain moves from the simplest aspects of music, such as sound and tone, to the more complex, like composition and performance. In clear, accessible language, Robert Jourdain writes about the extraordinary array of physical and mental functions involved in the appreciation of music.
Music, the Brain, and Ecstasy is divided into chapters on the basics of sound and aspects of music and the way music is perceived, then it considers the neurological and emotional adaptations of composers and musicians to the demands of the music. He notes that there is no proof that any particular brand of emotionality is tied to musical greatness.
Stretching the mind in every dimension that music occupies, Robert Jourdain encourages one to think like a paleontologist, a neurophysiologist, an acoustician, a psychophysicist, a musicologist, a composer, a performer, a sociologist, a linguist, and a philosopher. He looks at the evolution of music, and introduces surprising new concepts of memory and perception, knowledge and attention, motion and emotion, all at work as music takes hold.
Customer Reviews:
Very Interesting.......2007-09-28
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I especially enjoyed reading about the personality characteristics of the greatest composers. Why did Mendelssohn and Saint-Saens never fully develop the potential they showed early in life while Beethoven's skills in composition improved consistently during his lifetime? For me, this book at least addressed, if not answered, some of the questions I've wondered about for a very long time. A previous reviewer complained the book portrayed snobbery. I guess from a certain viewpoint, someone could feel that way. James Brown said he'd surpassed everyone, Beethoven, Mozart, everyone because he'd written 5,000 songs. With all due respect and acknowledging Mr. Brown's very real talent, there is a bit of a difference there. For hundreds of years, music has been created for purposes of art and has been written also as popular music. Both unquestionably have their place in the world of music. The same could be said of all the arts. Is Australian aboriginal art less important than a Monet? Not if we believe the real purpose of art. I suggest an individual's opinion of this book depends on what they are hoping to take away from it. For me, it was an enjoyable, informative read.
Too Careless.......2007-08-05
I didn't even get to page 100 before deciding that the information in this book couldn't be trusted, and so I'm not going to finish reading it. I do have some expertise in classical music, and the author is just plain wrong in some things he says in that area. After realizing that he not very conscientious in the area which I was knowledgeable, I certainly can't rely on his presentation of facts in the scientific areas that I don't know so well, and that kind of material is the bulk of the book. The writing itself is not very impressive, either. Some of it seems to be trying in a much too calculated way to be "popular". Other of it fails when trying to explain complicated stuff, giving the impression that the author himself was none to clear about the material. And some of the writing is strangely "off", as if he looked up the wrong word in a thesaurus. It's really too bad the book isn't a success, because the subject matter itself is fascinating, and a high quality, well-written book on it would be most welcome.
A very underrated book, although some of reviewer criticisms are quite valid.......2007-05-05
I am a former research scientist and lifelong musician. I also have a graduate education in psychology and I don't approach any of the arts in a reductionistic fashion. It is from this space that I am evaluating this book on its merits with the understanding that its scope is indeed limited to Western music, which is only a small slice of the musical pie.
What I most like about this book is the way it weaves a story of the emergence of hearing and how sound affects us physically and psychology. For this purpose, the author draws on diverse sources such as science, anthropology, sociology, etc. However, he does this by weaving a tapestry of interesting threads, which is not at all like the construction of an academic treatise.
This book is also accessible to anyone and everyone! It is not just for musicians, scientists of psychologists. The target audience is the average person, however, if you have a background in one or more of these areas, you will appreciate the contents even more.
An underlying premise of the book is that music is satisfying because it sets up "anticipations" and then goes about satisfying them in unexpected ways. The more complex the music, the more types of anticipatory events are created and satisfied in more imaginative ways. I didn't really think about this until I read the book, but it's true. I can validate this in my own experience over a lifetime.
While some people may feel the application of biology or any other field is reductionistic, I didn't find this to be the case. Rather, I found that the author used various lenses and legitimate domains of knowledge to explore the many and varied facets of musical experience. Rather than taking away the mystery of what moves us, it makes the whole musical adventure even more fascinating and mysterious.
My guess is that most of you reading this are not familiar with Ken Wilber who is a rather famous contemporary philosopher. Ken espouses a worldview that embraces four irreducible domains of human experience that inform each other. He feels the split between arts, science and morals was the result of one domain (science), dominating the others. I believe there is much truth to this argument, but you will find none of this spirit here. I don't want or need to go into Ken Wilber in detail here, but he provides a very credible and integral worldview and I think this book is very much in the spirit of honoring each domain of human experience without a need to reduce any one of them to another. (For more on Wilber's books, see my listmania lists or for a nice introduction check out A Brief History of Everything.
Brilliant melodies, gorgeous prose.......2007-02-23
This book should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand how the human mind perceives, understands and translates music. Absolutely wonderful!
A Great Book on the Psychology of Music.......2007-01-10
I really enjoyed this book - in fact I took dozens of pages on a borrowed copy, then had to get my own. It may be a dense read for the layman, but anyone with a bit of science education will understand it, and really appreciate the fascinating perceptual and physical-psychological properties of the sound assortments we call music. A must read......
Here's a web site that recommends more books of this type:
[...]
Book Description
Music, according to Sufi teaching, is really a small expression of the overwhelming and perfect harmony of the whole universeâand that is the secret of its amazing power to move us. The Indian Sufi master Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882-1927), the first teacher to bring the Islamic mystical tradition to the West, was an accomplished musician himself. His lucid exposition of music's divine nature has become a modern classic, beloved only by those interested in Sufism but by musicians of all kinds.
Customer Reviews:
the mysticism of sound and music.......2007-05-31
great book, inspiring and enlightening, I enjoyed every page of it. I would recomend this any musician and any body who's interested in the eastern philosophy of how laws in music are so supernatural and connected to life.
Divine words..........2007-05-20
This is indeed one of my most treasured books and very close to my heart. Khan's words flow easily as balm from Heaven to the ear and to the mind and heart. Understand how our thoughts and words affect the world... their intent, sound and vibration have far reaching results. "The music of life shows its melody and harmony in our daily experiences. Every spoken word is either a true or a false note, according to the scale of our ideal." The prose of Khan's words flows as beautifully as a concerto and straight to the heart.
Enlightenment through Music.......2005-09-16
The challenging part about reading a book by an enlightened being is that the author is writing from an experience of consciousness (non-duality) that is impossible for the ego (duality) to comprehend. However, Hazrat Inayat Khan's writing is easily understood and could be valuable to both spiritual aspirants on the path to enlightenment and/or musicians looking for deeper levels in their artistry. This is a book to be studied, not just read. In it are keys to understanding the mysticism of sound, music, color, words, and silence.
The wave-like aspect of Life, not just about music.......2004-12-13
Other reviewers already dealt with the music side of the book, so i won't elaborate on that. There is in addition the purely sound-related aspect of reality. All words, thoughts, and emotions, carry on some power due to their vibratory nature. Everything, whatever it is can be seen as a wave. So don't think it is just about what you hear. All there is can be described in that way.
This book is of interest not for its esoteric nature, but rather to give the reader an intuition of what mystics perceive of reality, which is everything but magic. Science is currently concerned with a part of reality, namely those frequencies that can be detected and thus measured through physical (material) instruments. But the vibratory nature of the world goes beyond that. You as humans have access to more than the physical realm (mental, emotional, and let's say "spiritual" to give a rough picture). This books hints at those aspects captured by the concept of "sound", that are of utmost importance for all humans to uncover the possibilities life has given them. Everything you think, say or feel has an impact on you and your surroundings, so reading this book can help you to realize how important every single event of our life has, through its wave-like aspect. This book is about your very life.
Good Vibrations.......2004-08-31
This book is a compilation of the teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan, a Sufi mystic from the early part of the Twentieth century. Born in India, Khan was thoroughly familiar with both Hindu beliefs and Islam and he also knew Christian scriptures well. In this book, Khan explains the central tenets of his Sufi sect. He begins with the belief that vibration is the ultimate connection to God, and states that this belief is found in Christian, Muslim, and Hindu scriptures by reading "word" as sound, and sound as vibration. All else flows from this. Khan finds spiritual direction through seeking harmony with all and finding and matching the appropriate rhythm of things. Music, (of the serious type, not jazz, for instance) provides a means of worship and union with the Almighty. But the highest form of sound is abstract, a topic whose details are reserved for Sufi initiates because others might misuse such knowledge.
The book contains chapters on topics such as: the music of the spheres, color and sound, music in Indian culture, music of the dervishes, dance and music, music and psychology, the healing powers of music, memory, will, reason, intuition and dreams, the Ego, inspiration, and the value of repetition. It also contains short collections of aphorisms and phrases to be repeated. The editing of the volume is exceptionally well-done. Khan did not write these selections as a book; instead, they were collected and organized from various lectures and articles that he prepared dating from about 1913 to 1926. The editors have managed to create a cohesive text from very disparate sources. Some ideas are presented repeatedly, but unlike so many similar compilations of articles by other authors, the presentation of Khan's ideas in this book are consistent each time they are mentioned. The original sources and dates for each chapter are listed at the end of the book. The book contains an index, but no glossary.
I picked up this book because of the picture on the cover of Khan playing the vina. As a struggling student of Indian music, I hoped that Khan might say a word or two about the vina. Indeed, he does, explaining how the quiet sounds of the vina make it ideal as an instrument for mediation, but not for playing large public concerts. Much of my previous reading about Indian music has been by authors who seek to present strictly objective information about the music and culture of India, but in taking such a secular approach, they miss the whole feeling of the topic. Reading this book has given me a much greater understanding of and appreciation for how music is central to Indian religious practices and beliefs, whether among the Hindus or the Sufis, or even among members of the Indian Muslim community, such as musicians. Nevertheless, one point remains unclear- -harmony. In Indian music, harmony seems to play a much smaller or very different role than in Western music. Throughout this book, Khan speaks of harmony and its importance, but what kind of harmony is he speaking of? The kind of harmony that results when two differing notes are played simultaneously with an agreeable affect? Or is he talking about vibrations joining to create a repeatable, predictable pattern? Or lining up rhythmic cycles so that the beats fall together in a pattern? He wasn't specific on this point, and I'm not sure that the concept of harmony carries over with the same meaning across musical cultures. Harmony is clearly important in the East as well as the West, but the word may refer to very different phenomena and so his message could potentially be interpreted differently according to the culture of the reader.
This book is one of the clearest on Sufi beliefs that I have found. I appreciate Khan's scholarship and his open-mindedness regarding all religious beliefs. He never preaches that one must abandon one's own religion, but instead tries to show that the core beliefs of all religions reach ultimately to the same source. In this light, the book is full of little surprises, like when Khan points out the etymological relationship between our Christian word Alleluia, and Muslim Allah. Points to ponder leap from every page, such as "It is never too late to go onto the spiritual path, but it is never too early." Khan is exceptionally clever at using metaphors for explanation. I'm not ready to take everything he says at face value, but he's given me a lot to think about.
Book Description
Professor of Music at Colgate University and a widely respected musicologist, Godwin traces the history of the idea, held since ancient times, that the whole cosmos, with its circling planets and stars, is in some way a musical or harmonious entity. The author shows how this concept has continued to inspire philosophers, astronomers, and mystics from antiquity to the present day.
Customer Reviews:
A Conscious Cosmos ~ Re-Discovering The Adam Kadmon.......2006-05-19
Jocelyn Godwin's 'The Harmony of the Spheres: The Pythagorean Tradition in Music' was published in '92 by Inner Traditions Publ. This 512 page text along with his 'Music, Mysticism and Magic' in '86 and 'Harmonies of Heaven and Earth' in '87 comprise a trilogy of monumental importance.
Building from the foundation of these two previous works Joscelyn Godwin presents a treatise encapsulating all the arcane and mundane wisdom of the ages to come to a conclusion that we knew all along in our heart of hearts. There is no separation, no "I and Thou" in the universe. All is one and music is the hidden key to unlocking this ancient truth. The cosmos is a musical, harmonious entity (Adam Kadmon)!
His scholarship is beyond repute, his research exhaustive and his conclusions, well you decide.
Source Readings in Music.......2002-12-11
Yes, this is a highly specialized, scholarly, and esoteric collection but it contains the translated writings of philosophers of music not easily available. Not even the huge "Strunk's Source Readings (1998)" has the information which Godwin has collected and translated: Nicomachus, Pliny, Ptolemy, Kepler, Fludd; Arab writers Al-Safa, Al-Katib; the kabalist Ibn Latif. If you are a fan of Godwin's research as I am, these source readings will fill in the gaps in the history of music which is not taught. It is, however, a reference book first and foremost.
Customer Reviews:
A classic of its kind from a great musician........1998-04-14
A must read for classical pianists, both amateur and professional. Brendel's writing is often quite funny, always sincere, and often enlightening on subjects as diverse as the worth of Lizst, making recordings, and his understanding of Beethoven's compositional procedures. And best of all, the reader gets a glimpse into how one of the great musical minds of our time works. While not a difficult read and always interesting and enjoyable, the book does require knowledge of the standard literature for the piano to be fully appreciated.
Average customer rating:
- Extremely interesting and well written
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Nada Brahma: The World Is Sound : Music and the Landscape of Consciousness
Joachim-Ernst Berendt , and
Helmut Bredigkeit
Manufacturer: Inner Traditions
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0892811684 |
Customer Reviews:
Extremely interesting and well written.......1998-11-21
This book explores the relationship between music, consciousness and the physical world. The author makes an interesting argument that objects in the physical world generally form into harmonious relationships, and he cites the movements of the planets, oxygen atoms in H20 and so forth as examples. This is well written and argued, not a purely metaphysical line.
Having described the harmony of the physical world at atomic and astronomical levels, he goes on to consider Nada Brahma, an Indian Yoga technique of 'listening to the internal sound current'. The technique consists essentially of blocking ones ears and listening to the 'sound currents' which do actually come when one performs the technique (I've tried it). By meditating on these sound currents, one is taken into deeper levels of concentration. This 'inner music' is related to the concept of the music of the spheres, and this notion is investigated historically.
Overall, the book is an excellent read, and I just regret I lent my copy to someone and never got it back. Maybe I'll have to get the next edition from Amazon.com, as it seems to be on their website. If you're a musician and want something spiritual, this meditation might be for you!
Book Description
One of the finest achievements of Western culture is its brilliant heritage of classical music.
A Gift of Music looks at the lives of the greatest composers who have given us this heritage, and especially at how their music was shaped by their beliefs.
The result is a remarkable and inspiring book, showing the importance of Christian faith for many composers, and the effect of this upon their music. But it also shows how the lack of faith has brought profound change in the meaning and form of contemporary music.
Thus
A Gift of Music seeks to open up a whole new world of music--to encourage listening to the finest compositions with new understanding and pleasure, and to stretch our ears and imaginations. It is a book which will be greatly appreciated by those who already love classical music, and by others who want to explore this delightful world for the first time.
"I found
The Gift of Music hard to lay down until I had read it from cover to cover. I feel this book is a must." --Jerome Hines, Metropolitan Opera Company
"Reading about these great composers has been most inspiring to me. This is a book to read and enjoy." --George Beverly Shea, renowned soloist
"There will be no one who will not find stimulating insights [in
The Gift of Music]... I look for this book to open the doors to a new affirmation of life in the area of music." --Francis A. Schaeffer, founder, L'Abri Fellowship
"The most valuable contribution of
The Gift of Music is the way the authors integrate the lives, philosophies, and music of these great composers. It is their discussion of the cross-pollination of thought and the interaction of one composer and artist with another. This approach makes the men come alive and places the reader in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as observers, not historians.... Whether readers are new to classical music or graduates of a classical music program, they will find the book a good resource and an excellent overview of the development of musical thought." --
Contemporary Christian
"[The authors'] joyous enthusiasm... should serve to ignite the curiosity of many readers and lure them on to sample more liberally the magnificent sound structures of Bach and Handel, Haydn and Mozart--not to mention both their forerunners and their heirs." --
Christianity Today
Customer Reviews:
A wonderful book to explore the great composers.......2006-02-13
This is a superbly written book that contains 36 intriguing biographies and profiles of some of the great composers: from Baroque masters like Vivaldi and Bach ... through the pioneers of Classicism like Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven ... to the Romantic-era greats like Debussy and Liszt ... up to modern composers like Prokofiev and Bartok. The essays are crisp and flow like a good novel without getting bogged down in musicology terms (so good for young students and non-musical readers). Also their occassional comparisons through philosophy, art and Christian perspective makes for a deeper experience versus a overly "dry," academic treatment of mere dates and milestones. I have come to really appreciate this book's depth and have to admit this humble paperback is probably my favorite reference for studying a new composer (Schonberg's legendary "Lives of the Great Composers" being the other).
It would help to first say what this book is NOT: (1) A complete survey of the history of classical music, (2) A book on music theory or analysis of major works, (3) a presentation of ALL musical styles like Jazz, Pop, country etc. (4) A book ONLY about composers who were of Christian faith. Rather, the focus is on a sampling of the most famous composers of "classical music." Their lives and music are presented in factual, historical and non-judgmental way with the clear emphasis being on the gift of music they left the world. There are some references as to how their Christian faith influenced their music - which some will appreciate and others not. However, if your primary interest is the spiritual aspect of these men, then Patrick Kavanaugh's book, "The Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers," would be a better choice. But, where Kavanaugh offers more specific insights of the composers' spiritual lives (often quoted from letters written), authors Smith and Carlson in this book give a broader, more general overview of these composer's lives and most significant music that changed the world. Through their biographies and insights, Smith and Carlson show "people of faith" how purely instrumental music like classical music can be truly "Christian" and "spiritual" without any overt reference to diety (like in a church hymn). In doing so they show how classical music is a language not unlike how nature or the heavens speaks to us in their magnificance and unfathomable glory.
In common for both authors are musical academic backgrounds and working with the L'Abri Fellowship in Switzerland - a Christian center promoting the study and appreciation of music, philosophy and the arts. In the preface, the authors state their goal of this book: "There are many things in the Christian world which cause us to be sad. One of these is that for many classical music is a complete vacuum. This robs individual Christians and their children of one of the very rich areas of joy in this world. Most of all the purpose of this book is to encourage listening to the finest music with understanding and pleasure, and to stretch one's ears and imagination. The more we acquaint ourselves with that which is truly great and beautiful, the more we will dislike and turn away from that which is shallow and ugly."
If you have never listened to much classical music or casually studied its jewels or great composers, then this book is an ideal guide to grow in one's "understanding and pleasure" of such music. I started such a journey into the wonders of classical music over two years ago, and it has truly been one of the most personally rewarding things I have done - and one that will stay with me for decades (as classical music doesn't quite ever go out of style). So, I think the authors are right when they conclude the pursuit of the arts and the finest, most enduring music are part of a healthy, whole and - dare we say - enriching spiritual life. Even getting a couple of low-cost CD's of Bach and Mozart and just reading the chapter on these composers to start will go a long way ... and possibly begin a lifetime exploration and enjoyment of the gift these great composers left the world.
I can't put it down!.......2002-06-07
I greatly appreciate this book--it's a wonderful introduction to famous composers, plus a valuable resource for Christians who want to start or add to their collection of GOOD Christian music. Be a counter-cultural Christian--toss out the CCM and fire up Schutz, Bach, Handel, and the rest! Your mind and spirit (not to mention your neighbors) will thank you for it.
Excellent Source for Homeschool Music Education.......2000-08-28
This book is complete with each classical music composer, history of the life and works of music. It is written to aide people in historical facts of the composer, facts that are not normally shared in education. For example, many of the composers had a deep Christian influence in their music, and wrote for the Glory of God and stated so on origional music sheets. The book can be used for a complete classical music history education from early ages all the way up to senior high students. This is the only book needed for music education. It works extremely well in tying in facts in all areas of history. It is very well put together and informative.
Book Description
An accomplished musician and Hindu scholar looks to the harmonic ratios of ancient China, India and Greece as he explores the power of music to speak to our higher consciousness.
Average customer rating:
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Musical Humanism and Its Legacy: Essays in Honor of Claude V. Palisca (Festschrift Series)
Manufacturer: Pendragon Press
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ASIN: 0945193297 |
Book Description
This fascinating exchange between two of the most prominent figures in contemporary culture, Daniel Barenboim, Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, and Edward W. Said, the eminent literary critic and scholar and a leading expert on the Middle East, grew out of the acclaimed Carnegie Hall Talks. A unique and impassioned discussion about politics and culture, it touches on many diverse subjects: the importance of a sense of place; the differences between writing prose and music; the conductors Wilhelm Fürtwangler and Arturo Toscanini; Beethoven as the greatest sonata composer; the difficulty of playing Wagner; the sound at Bayreuth; the writers Balzac, Dickens, and Adorno; the importance of great teachers; and the power of culture to transcend all national and political differences——something they both witnessed when they brought together young Arab and Israeli musicians to play at Weimar in 1999.
Although Barenboim and Said have very different points of view, they act as catalysts for each other. The originality of their ideas makes this a book that is both accessible and compelling for anyone who is interested in the culture of the twenty-first century.
Customer Reviews:
Parallels and Paradoxes.......2007-02-07
I never received this book. Your earlier message said it was sent the middle of January but to day it was not received. Please track for me. David Fine
Mildly interesting, but we've sorta been here before.......2004-09-10
This book encompasses a series of talks between conductor Daniel Barenboims and writer Edward Said just before the turn of the millenium. It is short and an easy read, and to my mind doesn't really go anywhere bold or surprising. If you've seen intervies with Barenboim before--on 60 Minutes, for example, or on the several conductor and pianist DVDs on which he appears--you've heard him say much of this before--music is the opposite of silence and it is not the printed page but rather the notes the of the orchestra that are the composition. He also talks about such subjects as the "velocity" of music (a subject distinct from tempo) and the interrelation between music and politics. It is here in particular that he and Said go off on all sorts of tangents about the Israel-Palestine peace process (a process that has since basically collapsed), as well as the role of anti-Semitism in Germany, in Wagner's time, Hitler's time and now. Again, I've heard this before from Barenboim and Said many times--the difference between Wagner's ideals and Wagner's art and whether the two are separable, and so forth.
The most interesting chapter to me was the last, where both men made a very persuasive argument that classical music is dying or dead because of a narrowing of our cultural and intellectual life, especially in America, excluding anything universal and to limiting one's knowledge deliberately to a narrow sphere. It's virtually a proud provincialism, reinforced and encouraged by our consumerism culture that discourages critical thinking and expanding horizons, prefering sheep to minds. Wisely, neither man professes to have "the solution" but they do show how it's hard to really grasp the message of Beethoven this way, and I feel they have a strong point, one you won't find dealt with in most classical magazines or programs, as they too are an encouragement of a sort of mindless capitalism (disguised as "Art").
However, the best thing I can say about this volume is it refers often to the writings of Theodore Adorno, whose dense essays, though in some cases dated, are far far more penetrating and interesting than the rather pedestrian concepts bandied about here. At least this book is inexpensive and a quick read, so if you're curious it can't hurt to check it out. However, this volume will be taken to the second-hand shop the next time I go weeding through my stuff. For those of you who think you may be interested in this, and who don't mind thick, densely-written books, check out Adorno's "Essays on Music," also available from Amazon.
The meaning and value of music.......2004-01-25
I was very excited to read a book written by one of my favorite 20th century intellectuals and one of my favorite pianists. This is not a musicology text; it is perhaps, something more valuable than that. Edward Said, who died recently, was a pianist himself; this fact combined with his explorations into the meaning of democracy and social culture made reading this book a very interesting proposition alone. The book did not disappoint and offered many surprises both in terms of exploring what classical music can offer to contemporary culture and what music - especially Beethoven's music - means in political terms. The book is organized as a series of conversations in which Baremboim and Said discuss topics that include the apparent detachment that classical music has today from the rest of culture as opposed to the time when an understanding and admiration for it was deemed indispensable for the educated and higher classes. However, what makes the book a pleasure to read is one one level Said and Baremboim clealry love music passionatley, on the other Baremboim is an Israeli citizen, who was the first to perform in the occupied Territories with a palestinian orchestra and also sponsored a Palestinian orchestra to play inn Germany. Edward Said was an intellaetcual that argued passionatley for the Palestinian cause. Their firendship and coomon interest in music offers an undeniable sense of hope for those of us, like myself, who are troubled by the ongiong Arab-Israeli conflict that appears to worsen ebery day. That this hope should be nunaced and coloured with the music of Beethoven seems to be not only fascinating and beautiful, but a tribute to a composer who saw and used music to shake the world and argue for freedom. In so doing baremboim and Said discuss the possibility that music can serve as a model or for undertsanding between peoples and global citizenship. They are both idealists in this sense, but their vision makes beautiful sense nonetheless.
Two cultures, one uniting force.......2003-06-17
Having heard Barenboim and Said interviewed on NPR I rushed to Amazon to acquire this book. I was not disppointed! These are highly literate men, wise men, who see music in a social context. Although their roots are Israeli and Palestinian, their exposure to other cultures has broadened their perspectives so that their opinions are informed by their experiences in Egypt, Argentina, America, Germany, Israel, etc. The continuing theme is music, especially that of Beethoven and later Wagner, but in the context of their societies and ours. It may be that the hope forpeace in the world is shared music!
A Book So Full.......2002-12-17
If there is a book that presents valuable and valid lessons in how to resolve differences, be they in attitudes towards the arts, the lack of music in our educational system, the etiology of the Israeli/Palestinian dichotomy, and so much more, then this collection of conversations between Daniel Barenboim and Edward W. Said as edited and synthesized by Ara Guzelimian is it. This powerful but too brief book reaches for the Nobel Peace Prize in its courage, exploration of the state of man and the possibilities for the future, and in its tremendously accessible format that makes the workings of these three great minds available for us all. Each of the extended conversations taped betaween 1995 and 1999 addresses an interesting topic that serves to open vistas that go far beyond the crux of the topic. Hearing Barenboim expound on the fact that no one can exactly interpret a composer's score because the spirit is not on the page but in the making and experiencing the 'sound' that happens in a live performance rather obliterates all critics who descry individual interpretation of the great composers as "not the composer's intention!" Said carries this into the realm of literature, suggesting that contemporary writers are where they are because of the giants of the past and that we, as readers, are influenced in our interpretation of new work dependent upon our exposure and digestion of works by the old masters. Contemporary music by composers such as Carter, Schoenberg, and Birtwistle are discussed in a way that assists our concept of listening and learning in the concert hall. Similar parallels and similar paradoxes in the international political arena are given the same level of inspiring dialog and paths to understanding. This is a fine, fine book and we are indebted to Ara Guzelimian not only for his written and conversational contributions, but for persevering in having this volume published. Read this and gain insight and intelligence on many streams of thought that will help us all save this planet.
Books:
- Nonlinear Oscillations (Wiley Classics Library)
- Norton Anthology of Western Music: Volume 2: Classic to Twentieth Century
- Pasajes: Lengua Student Edition with OLC Bind-in Card
- Pasajes: Lengua Student Edition with OLC Bind-in Card
- Physics of Sound, The (3rd Edition)
- Piano: The Making of a Steinway Concert Grand
- Producing Great Sound for Digital Video
- R. Crumb's Heroes of Blues, Jazz, & Country
- R. Crumb's Heroes of Blues, Jazz, & Country
- Rationalizing Culture: IRCAM, Boulez, and the Institutionalization of the Musical Avant-Garde
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