In The Sunday Times today I review The Rest is Noise by Alex Ross, a book that has, for the moment, changed my life.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
The Rest is Noise
In The Sunday Times today I review The Rest is Noise by Alex Ross, a book that has, for the moment, changed my life.
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A blog about, among other things, imaginary ideas - What ifs? and Imagine thats. What if photographs looked nothing like what we see with our eyes? Imagine that the Berlin Wall had never come down. What if we were the punchline of an interminable joke? All contributions welcome.
What a wonderful review. This is the stuff that makes me say "I must get this book and what's more, I going to really enjoy it."
ReplyDeleteRoss has a website and blog at therestisnoise.com. Apologies if I'm the only person who hasn't yet found it. This includes a playlist from the book and promises more playlists in due course. I think he's linked the list to iTunes. I know it means more work for someone and might be thought a form of giving away advertising, but it would be good to see newspapers give references like this at the end of articles on their websites. Point of the web and all that.
Thanks, Mark, and you're right about that link.
ReplyDeletePre-ordered this a couple of weeks ago. Can't wait now. Just wish I had a week spare to properly lose myself in it.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this review. But why do we have to think in terms of whether Stravinsky or Schoenberg is better? Pierrot Lunaire is very difficult: but Transfigured Night is gorgeous and very powerful. I think late Stravinsky can be quite dry - but is saved by the Rake's Progress which is wonderful. And why reject Boulez? Come on - there are magnificent performances of some key 20th Century composers inc Mahler. My father (who left school at 14) was passionate about music - and took us as children to hear Boulez perform the Rite of Spring. Dare I say it was just so right. Thank you Pierre.
ReplyDeleteSounds v good, i like how he appears to have captured some of the power of the music in his account of it; and you have captured some of that power in your review.
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