Absolutely on Music: Conversations [Paperback]

A deeply personal, intimate conversation about music and writing between the internationally acclaimed, best-selling author and the former conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

InAbsolutely on Music, internationally Haruki Murakami sits down with his friend Seiji Ozawa, the revered former conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, for a series of conversations on their shared passion: music. Over the course of two years, Murakami and Ozawa discuss everything from Brahms to Beethoven, from Leonard Bernstein to Glenn Gould, from Bartók to Mahler, and from pop-up orchestras to opera. They listen to and dissect recordings of some of their favorite performances, and Murakami questions Ozawa about his career conducting orchestras around the world. Culminating in Murakami’s ten-day visit to the banks of Lake Geneva to observe Ozawa’s retreat for young musicians, the book is interspersed with ruminations on record collecting, jazz clubs, orchestra halls, film scores, and much more. A deep reflection on the essential nature of both music and writing,Absolutely on Musicis an unprecedented glimpse into the minds of two maestros.“A fascinating collection of conversations. . . . The unpretentious and engaging dialogues between passionate artists—the bewitching writer in whose novels music plays a prominent part and the indefatigable, amiable conductor—make the pages fly.” —The New York Times

“Highly entertaining. . . . A book that opens a new side of [Murakami’s] authorial persona.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“Absolutely on Music is an unprecedented treasure. . . . Talking about music is like dancing about architecture, it’s often said, but what joy to watch these two friends dance.” —The Guardian

“Enthralling. . . . What comes through in these conversations is the devotion both men feel for music; lq