 First edition cover | |
| Author | Vikram Seth |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Publisher | Phoenix House |
Publication date | 8 April 1999 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 383 pages (first edition, hardcover), 400 pages (hardcover edition) & 400 pages (paperback edition) |
| ISBN | 1-86159-117-9 (first edition, hardcover), ( ISBN 0-7679-0291-2 (hardcover edition) & ISBN 0-375-70924-X (paperback edition) |
| OCLC | 41381950 |
An Equal Music (1999) is a novel by Vikram Seth.
The plot concerns Michael, a professional violinist, who never forgot his love for Julia, a pianist he met as a student in Vienna. They meet again after a decade, and conduct a secret affair, though she is married and has one child. Their musical careers are affected by this affair and the knowledge that Julia is going deaf.
A recurring element throughout the plot is the pair's performance of Beethoven's Piano Trio Opus 1 No.3, which they first perform in their college days.
Seth together with Philippe Honoré marketed a double CD of the music mentioned in An Equal Music, performed by Honoré. [1]
The book was especially well received by musical fans, who noted the accuracy of Seth's descriptions of music.[ citation needed ]
Paolo Isotta, one of Italy's most significant music critics, wrote in the influential newspaper Il Corriere della Sera of the Italian translation that no European writer had ever shown such a knowledge of European classical music, nor had any European novel before managed to convey the psychology, the technical abilities, even the human potentialities of those who practise music for a living. [2]
Several musical works figure prominently in An Equal Music. Among these are the Trout Quintet by Franz Schubert, the String Quintet in C minor by Ludwig van Beethoven, and The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
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The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists, a violist, and a cellist. The double bass is almost never used in the ensemble mainly because it would sound too loud and heavy.
Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers, with one performer to a part. However, by convention, it usually does not include solo instrument performances.
Dame Julia Myra Hess, was an English pianist best known for her performances of the works of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, and Brahms.
Vikram Seth is an Indian novelist and poet. He has written several novels and poetry books. He has won several awards such as Padma Shri, Sahitya Akademi Award, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, WH Smith Literary Award and Crossword Book Award. Seth's collections of poetry such as Mappings and Beastly Tales are notable contributions to the Indian English language poetry canon.
The Lindsay String Quartet was a British string quartet from 1965 to 2005.
AntonJoseph Reicha (Rejcha) was a Czech-born, Bavarian-educated, later naturalized French composer and music theorist. A contemporary and lifelong friend of Beethoven, he is now best remembered for his substantial early contributions to the wind quintet literature and his role as teacher of pupils including Franz Liszt, Hector Berlioz and César Franck. He was also an accomplished theorist, and wrote several treatises on various aspects of composition. Some of his theoretical work dealt with experimental methods of composition, which he applied in a variety of works such as fugues and études for piano and string quartet.
The Melos Quartet was a much-recorded, Stuttgart-based string quartet active from 1965 until 2005, when its first violinist died. It also went by the name Melos Quartett Stuttgart, partly to distinguish itself from the equally prominent chamber group the Melos Ensemble of London.
The Budapest String Quartet was a string quartet in existence from 1917 to 1967. It originally consisted of three Hungarians and a Dutchman; at the end, the quartet consisted of four Russians. A number of recordings were made for HMV/Victor through 1938; from 1940 through 1967 it recorded for Columbia Records. Additionally, several of the Quartet's live performances were recorded, at the Library of Congress and other venues.
Ferdinand (von) Hiller was a German composer, conductor, pianist, writer and music director.
Giovanni Sgambati was an Italian pianist and composer.
John O'Conor is an Irish pianist and pedagogue, and former director of the Royal Irish Academy of Music.
Julia Fischer is a German classical violinist and pianist. She teaches at the Munich University of Music and Performing Arts and performs up to 60 times per year.
Philippe Honoré is a French violinist who has been a regular recitalist in France and the United Kingdom. He was appointed Violin Professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London in September 2012. He has performed widely in broadcast recitals on French radio and television.
The Fine Arts Quartet is a chamber music ensemble founded in Chicago, United States in 1946 by Leonard Sorkin and George Sopkin. The Quartet has recorded over 200 works and has toured internationally for 77 years, making it one of the longest enduring major string quartets. In its history, the Quartet has had two leaders: Leonard Sorkin, from 1946 to 1981, and Ralph Evans, from 1982 to the present. Its current members are violinists Ralph Evans and Efim Boico, violist Gil Sharon, and cellist Niklas Schmidt.
Paul Lewis is an English classical pianist.
The String Quintet in C minor, Op. 104, written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1817, performed on 10 December 1818, and published in 1819, is an arrangement of the early C minor Piano Trio, Op. 1 No. 3. This work is scored for a string quintet with two violas.
The Barylli Quartet was a celebrated Austrian string quartet classical musical ensemble. It was first brought together in Vienna during the War by Walter Barylli, Konzertmeister of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra from 1939, but was re-founded in 1945. The reformed quartet actually appeared in public performance only from 1951 to 1960. In that period it was the 'home' quartet of the Vienna Musikverein.
Anton Bruckner's String Quintet in F major, WAB 112 was composed in 1878/79 in Vienna.
The Busch Quartet was a string quartet founded by Adolf Busch in 1919 that was particularly noted for its interpretations of the Classical and Romantic quartet repertoire. The group's recordings of Beethoven's Late String Quartets are especially revered.
"While having a formidable technique, she is not a virtuoso phenomenon, but something different that has to do intimately with music."