Music that shaped an era
Waliul Arefin savours the tales behind the tunes
The Rest Is Noise
Alex Ross
Picador The twentieth century was a fertile and a successful year in the history of western classical music. But many critics deem that age of western classical music as numbered and the future is grim and bleak for those who practise it and yet it has had a positive impression on this genre of music. In this brilliant piece of work on music history, The Rest Is Noise, Alex Ross, the much acclaimed music critic and expert of the New Yorker, has brushed aside many such erroneous speculations and thrown light on the future direction classical music is likely to take. In this erudite and scholarly work on the history of music of the 20th century, he has successfully narrated the socio-cultural history behind the music, short biographies of the composers, styles of music, different sorts of analyses and musical descriptions, raw politics and much more of that period. Not surprisingly it was a national bestseller in America and a Pulitzer Prize Finalist in 2007. It has also grabbed some prestigious awards and prizes for its sweeping rendition of musical history in an amazing and dramatic way. Ross worked on this book for a decade and eventually came forth to string together the important events of the 20th century along with its music. The lives of the composers and their most illustrative works have been the main theme of this book. Music around the world --- from Vienna to Paris, from Berlin to Beijing, from Hitler's Germany to Stalin's Russia --- has been wonderfully captured, giving the readers a comprehensive knowledge of the musical scene of the 20th century. This fascinating book has been divided into three parts to narrate the comprehensive musical history of the last 100 years. The first part spans the time period between 1900-1933 and has six chapters. In this section, the story of the giants of Austro-German music, Strauss and Mahler, has been depicted through covering their personal relationships, their compositions and the history behind them. The compositions of this dynamic duo along with the renderings of Wagner and Puccini have been termed by the author as 'the golden age' of classical music. The role of Schoenberg and Debussy have then been narrated in lucid manner. Then follow analyses of the contributions of Janacek, Bartok, Ravel and Stravinsky in folk and jazz. Renowned American composers, including Ives, Ellington, Will Marion Cook and Gershwin, have been given due space in this section, which has in fact complemented the musical history of this period. Of note here is that the famous Finnish composer Jean Sibelius has been given special treatment along with his short biography. The contributions of Berlin in the twenties to music have been mentioned towards the end of this section, much to the delight of the music aficionados. Part 2 of the work covers the period 1933-1945 with interesting chapter heads like ' The Art of Fear: Music in Stalin's Russia', ' Music for All: Music in FDR's America', ' Music in Hitler's Germany'. These topics speak for themselves and provide some rare information and insight on the Hitler and Stalin eras. How many of us knew that ruthless dictators like Hitler and Stalin were music enthusiasts and wanted to play a positive role in its development? How these dictators were connected to the world of soothing and refreshing music? How politics did come to play a role here? All these interesting issues have been addressed in this section. Readers will be amused and enlightened by the adept and riveting description of such events by Alex Ross. Part 3 narrates the events of the musical world spanning the period between 1945 and 2000. In this section, there are chapters about 'the US Army and German Music', 'the cold war and the avant garde of the fifties', 'the passions of Benjamin Britten,' 'Beethoven was wrong: Bop, Rock and the Minimalists', and more. There is no need to go into the details of all these chapters as they themselves reveal much coveted information on the music world. Apart from it, the writer enquires into the supremacy of European music and its present condition. But the writer is partial towards American music and has little hesitation in demonstrating it. He has dealt with American music history extensively. Some of the very crucial questions regarding classical music --- What is meant by classical music now? What is the condition of classical music at the onslaught of jazz, rock and pop? What is its future? Will it survive in the coming years? --- all these issues have been beautifully dealt with by the writer in such a way you cannot but admire it. It would seem to the readers that the book is not about tedious historical details on music but a narration of a work of fiction. Moreover, the works of the all time musical greats --- Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Chopin and others --- have been mentioned throughout the book to analyze the various events in the history of music. By the way, did you know that both Mao Zedong and Thomas Mann were music connoisseurs and they had got something to boast of in the music world? These issues are also presented in this work. This is a comprehensive, entertaining, insightful and informative book on the history of classical music. You are most likely to be shaken and stirred by the contents and the significant issues addressed in it. This reviewer is quite sure by the time you have finished reading the book, you will emerge a little more knowledgeable about music than you were earlier. It is a must read for music connoisseurs and students of musicology. As for readers in general, they will not be deprived of the gems Alex Ross has provided in this fantastic and unputdownable work.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments