Classical music : expect the unexpected / Kent Nagano with Inge Kloepfer ; translated from German by Hans-Christian Oeser.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nagano, Kent, 1951-

Kloepfer, Inge, 1964- author.

Standardized Title:

Erwarten Sie Wunder! English

Language:

English

German

Subjects (All):

Nagano, Kent, 1951-.

Nagano, Kent.

Conductors (Music)--Biography.

Conductors (Music).

Music--History and criticism.

Music.

Genre:

Biographies.

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Autobiographies.

Physical Description:

x, 238 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Montreal ; Kingston ; London ; Chicago : McGill-Queen's University Press, [2019]

Summary:

"How relevant is classical music today? The genre seems in danger of becoming nothing more than a hobby for the social elite. Yet Kent Nagano has another world in mind, one where everyone has access to classical music. In Expect the unexpected, the famous classical composer and conductor tells the deeply personal story of his own engagement with the masterpieces and great composers of classical music, his work with the world's major orchestras, and his tireless commitment to bringing his music to everybody. Narrating his first childhood encounters with music's power to overcome social and ethnic boundaries, he celebrates an art form that has always taken part in debates about human values and societal developments. The loss of classical music, he argues, not only would impover-ish society from a cultural perspective, but would rob it of inspiration, wit, emotional depth, and a sense of community. Getting to grips with classical music's existential crisis, Nagano contends that it is too crucial to humanitys̉ survival to be allowed to disappear from our everyday reality. In this moving autobiography, Kent Nagano makes a compelling plea for classical music that is as exhilarating as it is thought-provoking."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Chapter 1 On Cattle Breeders and Trumpets p. 3

A Fishing Village Filled with Sound p. 3

Mother's Determination p. 6

The Miracle of Morro Bay p. 9

Music - School - Music p. 13

On Teachers and Structure p. 17

The Golden Age of Classical Music p. 20

My Dream p. 24

Bach - Through the Heart to the Head p. 27

Chapter 2 Declaration of Bankruptcy in Philadelphia p. 41

Concert in a Ghost Town p. 41

Death in Installments p. 43

Greetings from Lehman Brothers p. 47

A Wasting Disease in Wonderland p. 49

Gray, and Even Grayer p. 52

Changing Values, Changing World p. 56

Narrow Education p. 57

Wishful Thinking, Wished-for People p. 59

Schoenberg - Collapse and New Beginning p. 63

Chapter 3 Classical Music for a Time of Crisis? p. 77

Outrage Is the Beginning of All Things p. 77

Imminent Disappearance p. 78

Not Just for Elites p. 80

The Search for Meaning p. 83

Man's Foe p. 87

On the Power of Aesthetic Experiences p. 88

A Matter of Social Survival p. 92

What's Your Mind Made Of? p. 94

The Promises of Music p. 97

Beethoven - Superstar p. 100

Chapter 4 Heroes on Ice - and No Compromises p. 113

Strange Sounds for Young Folk p. 113

An Orchestra without a Conductor p. 116

Anything for the Turnaround p. 119

Strauss, or The Path to a Program Idea p. 121

Outside the Door p. 125

Nothing Lasts Forever p. 127

Frank Zappa, or The Serious Side of the Artist p. 129

Messiaen - A Glimpse into the Beyond p. 135

Chapter 5 Nothing But Music in One's Head p. 149

Diabolus in Musica p. 149

Music Can Engender More than Words p. 152

Have a Good Cry! p. 156

Sweet Expectations p. 160

Heard a Thousand Times p. 162

Nothing Comes for Free p. 166

Classical Music or Pop? p. 169

A Matter of Perspective p. 170

Bruckner - Dissolution of Boundaries p. 174

Chapter 6 The Unanswered Question p. 189

Helmut Schmidt: In No Humor for Pessimism p. 190

William Friedkin: A Trip with Beethoven p. 198

Julie Payette: Good Morning, Houston p. 203

Dirk Nowitzki: Basketball Is Jazz p. 208

Yann Martel: Perfect Silence p. 213

Bernstein and Ives - Whither America? p. 217.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Other Format:

Nagano, Kent, 1951- Erwarten Sie Wunder! English Classical music.:

ISBN:

9780773556348

0773556346

OCLC:

1080220975