Prince d'orchestre

by Metin Arditi

Alors que chaque concert lui vaut un triomphe et qu’il se trouve au sommet de sa gloire, le chef d’orchestre Alexis Kandilis commet une indélicatesse dont les conséquences pourraient être irrémédiables. Sa réputation est ébranlée. Aux déceptions et revers qui s’ensuivent il oppose la certitude de son destin d’exception. Mais les blessures les plus anciennes se rappellent à son souvenir. L’insidieux leitmotiv des Kindertotenlieder – Les chants des enfants morts – de Gustav Mahler lui chuchote sans répit le secret qu’il voudrait oublier. La chute est inexorable. Seules l’amitié ou la confiance de quelques proches semblent l’ouvrir à une autre approche de son talent, susciter en lui un homme nouveau, dont la personnalité glisserait de la toutepuissance à la compassion, de l’arrogance à l’empathie profonde. Se dessine peut-être une métamorphose…
Roman haletant, parcours exalté, bouleversé par les véhémences de la musique, Prince d’orchestre est aussi une réflexion sur la part d’imprévisible que contient toute existence, sur la force du hasard et les abîmes de la fragilité humaine, sur les souffrances que convoque, apaise, et souvent transcende l’inépuisable fécondité de l’art.

372 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2012

About the author

Metin Arditi is a French-speaking Swiss writer of Turkish origin. He left Turkey at the age of seven. After spending eleven years in a Swiss boarding school in Lausanne, he studied at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, where he earned a degree in physics and a postgraduate degree in nuclear engineering. He continued his studies at Stanford Business School, where he got an MBA. He lives in Geneva, where he is very involved in the cultural and artistic life of the city. From 2000 to 2013 he was Chairman of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (O.S.R.). He is a member of the Strategic Council of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, where over the years he taught physics (Assistant to Prof. Mercier), economics and management (as lecturer) and creative writing (as Visiting Professor). In 1988, he created the Arditi Foundation which awards fifteen annual prizes to graduates of the University of Geneva and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. The Arditi Foundation has purchased and offered to the University of Geneva a landmark theater, the Cinema Manhattan, now called Auditorium Fondation Arditi. He is the founder of " The Instruments of Peace Foundation ", which offers musical education to children of Palestine and Israel. He is a member of the Foundation Board of the Music Conservatory of Geneva. He chaired the Building Committee of the Martin Bodmer Museum in Cologny. In December 2012, Metin Arditi was appointed UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. In June 2014, UNESCO appointed him Special Envoy. In September 2014, he created the Arditi Foundation for Intercultural Dialogue.

Reviews

[Elodie Biteau]

Une plongée dans l univers de la musique classique.

[T Dm]

**Warning: this text may contain spoilers** La vida es polvo y el destino viento.
Η ζωή είναι σκόνη και το πεπρωμένο, αγέρας.
Francisco Tamayo
σελ. 10

Die Sonne, sie scheinet allgemein
Ο ήλιος λάμπει για όλους
Kindertotenlieder, Gustav Mahler
Poetry by Friedrich Rückert,
σελ. 21

"Δεν πρέπει να πληγώνουμε τους ανθρώπους. Γιατί ο πληγωμένος άνθρωπος είναι ένα επικίνδυνο ζώο. Πρέπει να τους ανεχόμαστε ή να τους εξοντώνουμε.
Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince ("Ο Ηγεμών")
σελ. 84"

[Christina Harlin]

I hate giving books two or fewer stars, and always feel like I'm being an ass in doing so. Therefore, I must say right away that the original book is French so this might not be a completely fair assessment. Maybe something is being lost in translation. But as it is, "The Conductor of Illusions" is a dull read, with an amateur feel to it and a nasty, childish protagonist. Oh yes, I get that he's supposed to be that way; this is a tale of madness and murder, after all. Some hoity-toity orchestra conductor goes mad with his own hubris and treats everybody like crap.

If it were truly well-written (or translated better), I could still be on board. But in many ways, the style reminded me of early VC Andrews books, like the "Flowers in the Attic" series, in which characters think quite a bit of themselves and view the world in vain hyperbole. "He deserved it, because he would be the greatest conductor in the world." "Nothing would stop him from becoming the most famous man on the planet." "Her son was brilliant and nothing could stand in his way." Well, that gets tiresome after a while.

But let's not leave the party angry. I'll give it a couple of good points. First, it's a really fast read (no thinking is required; is that a plus?). Also, the book may be of interest to people who follow the world of orchestras, classical music and conductors, because the author does make some attempt to convey the complex beauty of music onto the written page, along with the power and influence of the orchestra's conductor. I thought the musical interludes came across as clunky - but I'm not an expert about music.

Maybe in French, the book is brilliant. Unfortunately I don't read in French.

[Jacqueline]

The inexorable decline of a famous conductor. The conductor is arrogant and conceited. The fall leads him to madness.

[Marina Mir]

C´est un histoire d´un homme qui avait tout et pouvait obtenir encore plus mais sa vanité et son orgueil ont fini par tout gacher.

[Dmg94706]

The demise of a world-class conductor makes for a great psychological thriller ...keeps you reading through the night!

[Maria Gerokostopoulou]

Something is missing......