具体描述
An exploration into the question of greatness from the Chief Classical Music Critic of the New York Times
When he began to listen to the great works of classical music as a child, Anthony Tommasini had many questions. Why did a particular piece move him? How did the music work? Over time, he realized that his passion for this music was not enough. He needed to understand it. Take Bach, for starters. Who was he? How does one account for his music and its unshakeable hold on us today?
As a critic, Tommasini has devoted particular attention to living composers and overlooked repertory. But, like all classical music lovers, the canon has remained central for him. In 2011, in his role as the Chief Classical Music Critic for the New York Times, he wrote a popular series in which he somewhat cheekily set out to determine the all-time top ten composers. Inviting input from readers, Tommasini wrestled with questions of greatness. Readers joined the exercise in droves. Some railed against classical music’s obsession with greatness but then raged when Mahler was left off the final list. This intellectual game reminded them why they loved music in the first place.
Now in THE INDISPENSABLE COMPOSERS, Tommasini offers his own personal guide to the canon--and what greatness really means in classical music. What does it mean to be canonical now? Who gets to say? And do we have enough perspective on the 20th century to even begin assessing it? To make his case, Tommasini draws on elements of biography, the anxiety of influence, the composer's relationships with colleagues, and shifting attitudes toward a composer's work over time. Because he has spent his life contemplating these titans, Tommasini shares impressions from performances he has heard or given or moments when his own biography proves revealing.
As he argues for his particular pantheon of indispensable composers, Anthony Tommasini provides a masterclass in what to listen for and how to understand what music does to us.
作者简介
Anthony Tommasini is the chief classical music critic for the New York Times. He graduated from Yale University, and later earned a Doctorate of Musical Arts from Boston University. He is the author of three books, including a biography of the composer and critic Virgil Thomson. As a pianist, he made two recordings of Thomson’s music on the Northeastern label which were supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.
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这本书的语言风格极其凝练，带着一种近乎冷峻的克制，仿佛作者在用最少的笔墨，描绘出最广阔的内心荒原。我特别欣赏作者在描绘人物心理活动时所采用的间接手法。他很少直接告诉我们角色在想什么，而是通过环境描写和人物的微小动作来暗示深层的情绪暗流。比如，当主角面对重大抉择时，作者可能会用几页篇幅来描写窗外不合时宜的暴雨，或者他整理书架上摆放顺序的强迫症行为，这些外在的表象，比任何内心独白都要来得有力。这种“少即是多”的写作哲学，使得每一次情感的爆发都显得尤为震撼，像是积蓄已久的水坝终于决堤。阅读过程中，我常常需要停下来，反复琢磨一两个精妙的句子，它们像被精心打磨过的宝石，棱角分明，反射出复杂的光芒。对于那些偏爱华丽辞藻和情感外放的读者来说，此书可能略显晦涩，但对于钟情于精确、富有张力的文字艺术的爱好者而言，这本书简直是一场文字盛宴，是对语言潜能的一次深刻挖掘。
评分这部作品的叙事结构简直是一场迷宫探险，作者似乎刻意避免了传统意义上的线性叙事。情节的推进不是靠明确的因果链条，而是依赖于人物内心世界的细微波动和环境氛围的突变。我花了相当长的时间去适应这种跳跃式的叙事节奏，一开始甚至感到有些困惑，仿佛手里拿着一张残缺不全的地图。然而，一旦我放下对“清晰路线图”的执念，转而沉浸于文字所营造的氛围中时，那种独特的阅读体验便开始显现出来。那些看似不相干的片段，在特定的情境下，会奇妙地相互折射、映照，形成一种更深层次的象征意义。作者对细节的捕捉令人咋舌，无论是城市里老旧电车上斑驳的光影，还是角色手中那枚磨损的古老怀表，都承载着超越其物理存在的重量。特别是对“时间”这一主题的处理，并非简单地记录过去、现在与未来，而是将其解构、碎片化，让读者感受到时间的流动本身就是一种多维度的、充满张力的存在。这种对叙事形式的大胆实验，无疑会筛选掉一部分追求快速满足感的读者，但对于那些愿意投入心神去解码的探索者来说，它提供了一种极其丰富且值得反复咀嚼的文本体验。
评分这本书在情绪层面上带来的影响是持久而微妙的。它没有采用激烈的冲突或戏剧性的高潮来吸引人，而是依靠一种持续不断的、低沉的忧郁基调来渗透读者的心防。这种忧郁并非源于具体的不幸，而是一种对现代社会异化状态的深刻感知，一种挥之不去的疏离感。它成功地捕捉到了那种“身处人群中却感到绝对孤独”的现代病症。作者对人物的同情是深沉的，但这种同情是理性的，而非煽情的。他展示了角色的困境，但不急于提供出口，而是让读者也一同体验那种在困境中挣扎却又无处发力的状态。我发现自己常常在夜深人静时，回想起书中某个角色的沉默对望，那种无言中的巨大张力，比任何激烈的争吵都要来得令人心碎。这种艺术处理使得作品的感染力超越了故事本身，它变成了一种对特定时代情绪的精准捕捉和永恒封存。
评分从技术层面上讲，这本书的结构安排堪称大胆的建筑学实践。它并非简单的平面铺陈，更像是一栋多层、多翼的复杂建筑，不同的时间线和叙事视角如同不同的楼层和房间，它们相互连接，有时重叠，有时又完全隔离。作者在不同叙事声音之间切换的娴熟度令人叹服，每一种声音都有其独特的音色、节奏和道德立场，它们共同编织出一幅宏大却又充满裂痕的时代肖像。有一处，作者利用一个重复出现的、看似微不足道的物体——比如一座废弃的喷泉——作为锚点，将跨越数十年、涉及数代人的故事线巧妙地串联起来。这种非线性的、多焦点的叙事手法，要求读者必须全程保持高度的专注力，不断地在脑海中绘制出事件的对应关系图。这种阅读体验是耗费精力的，但最终的回报是清晰的：读者得以从一个近乎上帝视角的角度，审视人物命运的交织与碰撞，而非仅仅代入某一个单一角色的体验。
评分关于这本书的哲学思辨部分，它展现出一种令人不安的、但又极具启发性的世界观。作者似乎在挑战我们对“真实”和“认知”的固有界限。书中的很多段落，读起来更像是对存在本质的诘问，而非对具体事件的记录。它探讨了记忆的不可靠性、身份的流变性，以及我们在构建自身叙事时所依赖的那些脆弱的支柱。我发现，这本书并没有提供任何安慰性的答案，它只是无情地撕开了那些我们习以为常的确定性，逼迫读者直面虚无的边缘。这种毫不妥协的学术深度和人文关怀的结合，让它远远超出了普通小说的范畴。特别是书中对“他者”概念的探讨，其复杂程度堪比某些后结构主义理论文献，但作者却奇迹般地将其融入到日常生活的琐碎场景中，使得这些宏大的命题变得触手可及，但也更具压迫感。读完后，我感到一种强烈的认知失调，需要花很长时间去重新校准自己对周围世界的感知框架。
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