Aaron reviewed Impossible Art by Matthew Aucoin
The Impossible Art
5 stars
I have not heard any of Aucoin's music, but I was interested in reading what a young, modern composer had to say about the form. I was captivated by the book. He's a terrific writer, and has a lot of thoughtful, interesting things to say about a range of opera, not just modern examples. Writing about music is difficult, so when gifted writers come along we should all take advantage of it. Aucoin's book falls into that category. I'm not sure this is the perfect book for a true neophyte -- he still makes some assumptions about the base level of knowledge that people have -- but it is an engaging defense of the form and should be good reading for those who are comparatively new to opera and those who have loved it for a long time. If the art form is to grow and sustain itself, we'll need …
I have not heard any of Aucoin's music, but I was interested in reading what a young, modern composer had to say about the form. I was captivated by the book. He's a terrific writer, and has a lot of thoughtful, interesting things to say about a range of opera, not just modern examples. Writing about music is difficult, so when gifted writers come along we should all take advantage of it. Aucoin's book falls into that category. I'm not sure this is the perfect book for a true neophyte -- he still makes some assumptions about the base level of knowledge that people have -- but it is an engaging defense of the form and should be good reading for those who are comparatively new to opera and those who have loved it for a long time. If the art form is to grow and sustain itself, we'll need more careful thinkers like Aucoin. The musical examples are so cramped on the page that they are barely readable, but otherwise this is an outstanding book.