From Powells.com
Staff Pick
Award-winning writer Haruki Murakami and former Boston Symphony Orchestra conductor Seiji Ozawa get together and talk music. Expansive, meticulous, and now lovingly transcribed, the conversations in Absolutely on Music create a fascinating glimpse into the complexity of music through the eyes and hearts of two die-hard and well-spoken fanatics. Recommended By Gigi L., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
A deeply personal, intimate conversation about music and writing between the internationally acclaimed, best-selling author and his close friend, the former conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Haruki Murakami's passion for music runs deep. Before turning his hand to writing, he ran a jazz club in Tokyo, and from The Beatles' "Norwegian Wood" to Franz Liszt's "Years of Pilgrimage," the aesthetic and emotional power of music permeates every one of his much-loved books. Now, in Absolutely on Music, Murakami fulfills a personal dream, sitting down with his friend, acclaimed conductor Seiji Ozawa, to talk, over a period of two years, about their shared interest. Transcribed from lengthy conversations about the nature of music and writing, here they discuss everything from Brahms to Beethoven, from Leonard Bernstein to Glenn Gould, from record collecting to pop-up orchestras, and much more. Ultimately this book gives readers an unprecedented glimpse into the minds of the two maestros.
It is essential reading for book and music lovers everywhere.
Review
"Engaging....[Murakami’s] knowledge of music is beyond impressive, as anyone who has read his novels already knows. He loves jazz, and one of the most interesting passages involves exchanges about blues in Chicago in the 1960s. Ozawa also declares a deep admiration for Louis Armstrong....A work that general readers will enjoy and the musical cognoscenti will devour." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Transcribed from conversations between the phenomenal Japanese author Murakami (who ran a jazz club in his youth) and magician-with-a-baton Seiji Ozawa, whom I remember fondly as conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in my student days long, long ago? I cannot resist. For all your smart readers." Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal
Review
"Intriguing insights about the nature of music....Deliberate and contemplative. In some ways, these conversations are High Fidelity for classical music fans." Publishers Weekly
About the Author
Haruki Murakami was born in Kyoto in 1949 and now lives near Tokyo. His work has been translated into more than fifty languages, and the most recent of his many international honors is the Jerusalem Prize, whose previous recipients include J. M. Coetzee, Milan Kundera, and V. S. Naipaul.