Music and Murakami (But... even more) - Rysen

With how much of Murakami's work has been tied in with music (and for the purposes of this post, classical music), it is important to note that much of the classical music he brings up holds great significance in relation to the deeper meaning of the history of these works. Given that he is, with great respect for the term, a classical music nerd, I am more than certain his decisions to put these works in specific places throughout the book hold enormous significance.

For instance, in Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, there's an explicit reference to Zubin Mehta conducting Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht. Mehta was the conductor of the Israel Philharmonic, and the piece is about an affair a woman has, which results in her being pregnant and ultimately her cheated-on husband accepting the child as his own -- noting that Mehta himself had also had an affair and accepted the child as his own. Schoenberg, conversely, is Jewish and was a strong proponent of Israel's creation. Yet, the same book has a line, "Now for a good twelve-hour sleep, I told myself. Twelve solid hours. Let birds sing, let people go to work. Somewhere out there, a volcano might blow, Israeli commandos might decimate a Palestinian village. I couldn't stop it. I was going to sleep." I feel that there is something here to connect, noting the mention of (and subtle jab at) Bruckner and remembering his relation to the Nazi party's identity, which seems to also be tied into this discussion of Israel by Murakami. Given that the chapters are divided into two worlds, and I have not read the book nor know which chapter these quotes are from (most of these are from online), I can't make a further connection, but I feel that these may represent Murakami's thoughts about Israel's government.

His decision to also specify Trevor Pinnock playing Bach is also quite significant, as he plays in a period orchestra, or an orchestra using instruments from Bach's time. In reading a quick plot summary of the book as well as the chapter excerpt, it seems that this represents a force against modernization and popular culture, being staunchly rooted in history and tradition that has been long forgotten, and thus against the forces facing the main character. We may also note that Bach's work, including his Brandenburg Concertos, was not played for around a century, and this piece's manuscript was lost for many years. 

For a last, very quick example, in Norwegian Wood, Reiko playing of Ravel's Pavane pour une infante défunte on guitar is extremely significant in terms of Ravel's identity, which I am sure Murakami knows as well. Though primarily known for being a French composer, he always held his Spanish identity in close regard, and thus this guitar transcription seems not to detract from the work (also acknowleding the work evokes a Spanish princess), but rather embraces the identity of the composer. It may be that this may represent Reiko, as she lives her true self following Naoko's death, possibly in playing a work in a way the composer would love and feel is close to his true self.