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Arvo Pärt's Journey to His Musical Language
by Joonas Sildre
Between Two Sounds follows the life of world-famous composer Arvo Pärt from his birth in Estonia in 1935 through 1980, when the Soviets forced him to emigrate because of the nonconformist and religious nature of his music.
Based on years of research and close collaboration with Arvo Pärt himself, Joonas Sildre paints an atmospheric portrait of a restless artist who does not shy away from confronting state control or his own internal contradictions.
Arvo Pärt stormed Soviet-occupied Estonia's music scene in the 1960s as a brash young man pushing the limits of avant-garde modernism. Then he fell silent, no longer able to express what he felt through the musical language he had inherited. When he reemerged a decade later, he had found, in that silence between sounds, a new musical language inspired by ancient sacred music, the basis of his distinctive tintinnabuli technique. This graphic novel will appeal not just to fans of Arvo Pärt's music but to anyone who has known the struggle to remain true to oneself whatever the cost.
"Sildre's exceptional biography of the experimental Estonian composer finds novel ways to visualize his revolutionary sound. The comics storytelling translates the minimalist beauty and power of Pärt's music to the page. … Lovers of art and music will be inspired." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Joonas Sildre's graphic biography Between Two Sounds is about Estonian composer Arvo Pärt's lifelong quest to break new ground.…The art does an exceptional job of expressing the power of music in a visual format.…A perfect graphic novel introduction to the life and work of an acclaimed modern master of music." —Foreword Reviews
"A remarkable tale that's enriched with few words and plenty of neutral-toned illustrations. It beautifully spotlights movement and the music of Pärt." —Library Journal
"Sildre finds exciting ways to graphically depict music that shouldn't be missed." —Casten Jaehner, Comic Couch
"Joonas Sildre employs an imaginative and narrative force in his clear, reduced images – images that exploit empty space in the way Arvo Pärt's music exploits silence." —Nick Sternitzke, WRD 3
"This extraordinary book, with its interplay of calm and dynamic, goes along well with Pärt's music. It brings fans closer to Arvo Pärt as a person and will make the uninitiated curious." —Dorothea Husslein, SWR 2
This information about Between Two Sounds was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Joonas Sildre is an Estonian comic artist, illustrator, and graphic designer who specializes in biographical books.
Adam Cullen is a freelance translator of Estonian prose, poetry, and drama.
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