Between Two Sounds

 Between Two Sounds: Arvo Part's Journey to his Musical Language by Joonas Sildre, 2024, 224 pages

In my research for the Rhythm n' Books club, I came across this new graphic novel about a modern composer I had never heard of, Arvo Part. The author spent years researching and collaborating with Part to bring this book to life. Born in Estonia in the 1930s, Part developed a natural inclination for the piano and began composing and working in classical music circles early. Estonia was invaded and occupied by Germany during the war and eventually annexed by the USSR, not gaining their independence until the 90s. The novel tracks Part's life and health issues as he tries to find the freedom to create his own music, which was constantly censored and banned by the Soviets. Eventually, he and his family were made to leave the country. In time, he finds the musical voice he's been looking for, developing minimalist compositions with a holy perspective. Interesting to learn that, during certain years, Part has been considered to be the second most performed living composer, after John Williams. The illustrations are black and grey scale with thick stroke lines and the author does a very cool thing with representing music as black dots that vary in size and direction. Neat stuff. I really kind of like the graphic novel as a non-fiction vehicle for biographies, it's a great use of the format.