Yo Yo Mar is one of my heroes. His passion for music is inspirational. For the past few years I’ve been writing a novel with music as the theme, and this quote sums up what connects my three interlinked stories: “I have always been very curious, wondering, above all, what is it that makes us human? It took me many years to realize that music is one way that we ask, and answer, that question.”
Confronting the question: “what is it that makes us human?” is surely the fundamental reason for writing a novel, no?
On the first anniversary of 9/11, Yo Yo Ma played a Bach cello suite at Ground Zero on the first anniversary of 9/11. The video of that performance inspired this extract from my first chapter:
“The Sarabande was the most profoundly moving piece of music he could imagine. Whenever Edward was troubled, he played it in his head. Now, as the solemn notes rolled around the salon, each an extension of silence, the spaces between them filled with hope, courage, and resilience, he was reminded why we make music. The Human Condition—Humanity—this is what Bach explored with these notes.”
Richard Attree 