午夜剧场

I never once thought I wanted to become a music critic.

My major at university was French literature, and when it came to finding a job, I wanted to work for a publishing company, regardless of the genre. It was thanks to Ongaku No Tomo Sha Corp. happening to hire me that classical music, which until then had been nothing more than a hobby, became the main focus of my life.

By being in charge of editing sheet music, music books, and the monthly magazines "Ongaku no Tomo" and "Record Geijutsu," I gained many opportunities to freely interview performers and composers whom I had previously considered to be beyond my reach.

For someone like me who admired the lifestyle of being a lifelong editor like Yasuji Hanamori, the choice to leave the company I loved and become a freelancer was triggered by the advice of two senior colleagues, Kyoichi Kuroda and Akira Yasuhara. I have written about the details of these circumstances in this book.

Another major turning point was being blessed with the opportunity to self-produce for over 15 years as a radio personality for two internet radio programs, "OTTAVA" and "Café Figaro." Written words and spoken words. Having these two channels has significantly broadened my horizons.

Looking back, I truly feel that my current work has been driven by many encounters.

This book is a "collected works" containing 38 carefully selected reviews, essays, and interview articles from my approximately 35 years of work.

I have included facts and important information I gained in my own way regarding Karajan, Gould, Furtw?ngler, Celibidache, Rattle, Seiji Ozawa, Toru Takemitsu, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw, and others. There are also many descriptions relating theater, literature, and art to classical music, such as Stephen Sondheim, Peter Brook, Goethe, Flaubert, Pushkin, Rouault, and Moreau. The philosophical words of leading contemporary elder composers such as Philip Glass, Joji Yuasa, Arvo P?rt, and Valentin Silvestrov are original to this book.

I hope that all music lovers will find this an intriguing and enjoyable read.

Naoki Hayashida

Ongaku No Tomo Sha Corp.

208 pages, 2,530 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of the magazine's publication.