Author(s): Edward W. Said

Fiction

'What Said stands for - critical intelligence, high art and the preservation of the language - must be at the centre of our lives.' - Hanif Kureishi. Addressing the work of a wide variety of composers, musicians, and performers - from Mozart to Alfred Brendel - Edward Said analyses music's social, political, and cultural contexts and, as a classically trained pianist, provides rich and often surprising assessments of classical music and opera.This book offers both a fresh perspective on well-known pieces and a celebration of neglected works. Said laments the way in which opera superstars like Pavarotti have 'reduced opera performance to a minimum if intelligence and a maximum of overproduced noise'. He also reflects on the censorship of Wagner in Israel; an opera based on the life of Malcolm X; the relationship between music and feminism; the brilliant Canadian pianist Glenn Gould; and the works of Bach, Beethoven, Richard Strauss, Pierre Boulez, and others. Said wrote his incisive critiques as both an insider and an authority.