Playing by Ear: Reflections on Sound and Music

by Peter Brook

Overview

In this collection of essays, legendary theatre director Peter Brook reflects on the role of music in theatre and performance and revisits some of the best-known productions from his long and distinguished career, including Titus Andronicus, Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute, and The Prisoner. In his prologue, Brook writes, “As Orpheus discovered, every animal can respond to sounds. For us, the living question is ‘Which sounds? What music?’ In this book we will try to explore together the infinite range of experiences that can sometimes touch us deeply, sometimes leave us cold.” With topics ranging from how to evoke “true listening” to the relationship between words and music to the “living presence” of silence, Brook’s ever-inquisitive and questing mind invites the reader to pay greater attention to the rhythms and melodies present on stage and in life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781559369831
Publisher:	Theatre Communications Group
Publication date:	07/28/2020
Pages:	80
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Peter Brook is one of the world’s best-known theatre directors. Outstanding in a career full of remarkable achievements are his productions of Titus Andronicus (1955) with Laurence Olivier, King Lear (1962) with Paul Scofield, and The Marat/Sade (1964) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1970), both for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Since moving to Paris and establishing the International Centre for Theatre Research in 1970 and the International Centre for Theatre Creation when he opened the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord in 1974, he has produced a series of events which push at the boundaries of theatre, such as The Conference of the Birds (1976), The Ik (1975), The Mahabharata (1985) and The Tragedy of Carmen (1981) to name but a few. His films include Lord of the Flies (1963), King Lear (1970), The Mahabharata (1989), Tell Me Lies (restored 2013) and Meetings with Remarkable Men (restored 2017). His hugely influential books, from The Empty Space (1968) to Tip of the Tongue (2017), have been published in many languages throughout the world.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements vii

Prologue 1

Part 1

The Birth of Form 7

My First Teacher 13

Tradition 19

Field of Battles 25

Fat Paunches 33

A Long Phrase 41

Hit or Miss 45

Quarter-ear Music 51

Life is In Between 55

Incidental Music 59

Two for One and One for All 67

Part 2

The Speed of Thought 75

No Business Like Show Business 79

House of Flowers 85

Irma la Douce 93

The Beggar's Opera 97

Words and Music 105

Don Giovanni 109

A Magic Flute 113

The Prisoner 117

Labour of Love 121

The Sound of Silence 127

Keep Silence 135