"There Were Always Music and Words There"

2023/04/22

I never once thought about becoming a music critic.

I majored in French literature at university, and when it came to finding a job, I wanted to work for a publishing house, regardless of the genre. Thanks to Ongaku No Tomo Sha happening to hire me, classical music—which until then had been nothing more than a hobby—became the center of my life.

By 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 decision to leave the company I loved and go freelance was triggered by the advice of two senior colleagues, Kyoichi Kuroda and Ken 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 personality for two internet radio programs, "OTTAVA" and "Cafe Figaro." Written words and spoken words. Having these two channels significantly broadened my horizons.

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

This book is a "collection of works" containing 38 carefully selected pieces of criticism, essays, and interview articles from approximately 35 years of work.

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

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

"There Were Always Music and Words There"

Naoki Hayashida

Ongaku No Tomo Sha

208 pages, 2,530 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations, job titles, etc., are as of the time of publication.