Parallels And Paradoxes: Explorations In Music And Society

Description

Edward Said in conversation with his good friend, Daniel Barenboim Israeli Daniel Barenboim - director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and of the Berlin State Opera - and Palestinian Edward Said - eminent literary critic and leading expert on the Middle East - have been close friends for years. Parallels and Paradoxes is a series of discussions between the two friends about music, politics, literature and society. Barenboim and Said talk about, among other subjects, the differences between writing prose and music; the compromising politician versus the uncompromising artist; Beethoven as the ultimate sonata composer; Wagner; great teachers; and the power of culture to transcend national differences. Parallels and Paradoxes is an affectionate and impassioned exchange of ideas that is deeply informed, profound and yet completely accessible. About the Authors: Edward W. Said is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. He is the author of more than twenty books including Orientalism, Culture and Imperialism, and most recently, Out of Place. He lives in New York. Daniel Barenboim is the General Music Director of the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin. He lives in Germany.