Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Permissions
- Introduction
- 1 The Question of Religion: An Atheist's Portrayal of the Church of England
- 2 The Value of Sublimity: Solitude, Voyeurism, and the Transcendental
- 3 From Gilbert and Sullivan to Mozart: Influences and Perceptions of Music in Society
- 4 ‘ Don't Make Fun of the Fair’: The Composer in Twentieth-Century Britain
- Appendix
- Interview With Ian McEwan 27 July 2018
- Interview With Michael Berkeley 17 July 2018
- Bibliography
- Index
4 - ‘ Don't Make Fun of the Fair’: The Composer in Twentieth-Century Britain
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 December 2023
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Permissions
- Introduction
- 1 The Question of Religion: An Atheist's Portrayal of the Church of England
- 2 The Value of Sublimity: Solitude, Voyeurism, and the Transcendental
- 3 From Gilbert and Sullivan to Mozart: Influences and Perceptions of Music in Society
- 4 ‘ Don't Make Fun of the Fair’: The Composer in Twentieth-Century Britain
- Appendix
- Interview With Ian McEwan 27 July 2018
- Interview With Michael Berkeley 17 July 2018
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The Legacy of Perception
McEwan's knowledge of the profession of music and musicians is born from a familiarity with the inner workings of the field over several decades. This has arisen through friendships with many professional and amateur musicians, regular attendance at concerts, and his general interest in the field of performance since he was a child. The non-musician who reads his novels is presented with a narrative that relates the world of classical music in an accessible manner while in turn observing and commentating on its familiar scenarios, both positive and negative, to professional musicians who work in the field on a daily basis. Across several texts including novels and libretti his narratives dissect the presence of the classical musician in British society. In so doing he manages to reinforce certain aspects of perception that are generally known to the public while illuminating others. In discussing the libretto for the opera For You, that he conceived with the composer Michael Berkeley, and which is centred on a composer who is also a conductor, he commented on the nature of genius, egotism, and self-centredness in a musician as it can appear to others:
I found it irresistible to write a story about a composer, because I find the act of composing such an interesting metaphor for creativity in its purest sense … I wanted to explore the world of a creative obsessive and the way people are mesmerized by the power of that sort of genius.
This quote exemplifies the approach of McEwan towards assessing the reason why musicians might be seen differently to others. Chapters 2 and 3 examine the aspects of sublimity and the powerful nature of music on the individual. This chapter evaluates the public perception and expectation of British society towards the professional musical world by examining the portrayals in Amsterdam and For You most specifically. As McEwan has commented, the composer can be seen as a ‘metaphor for creativity’ and the ‘irresistible’ quality of this view is founded upon his knowledge and perception of the subject matter. McEwan's approach in For You is to portray a larger-than-life composer whose character has few morals and a considerable ego, and to veil these observations with a measure of humour.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Music and Religion in the Writings of Ian McEwan , pp. 169 - 208Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2023