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The book reveals a bit of Mr. Hough’s inquisitive nature, his unique take on topics from The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby,” to Jobim’s “Girl From Ipanema” (hint - one requires harmony to be complete, the other doesn’t…can you guess which is which? You may be surprised!) Mr. Hough, novelist, columnist, blogger and essayist, is an excellent writer. His words about music and the life of a musician, from walking out on to a stage or into the recording studio are fascinating, even to a non-musician. He also writes vividly about people he's known, places he's travelled to, books he's read, paintings he's seen; and touches on more controversial subjects, including religion and his challenges being a gay Catholic.
Rough Ideas is a perfect book to carry along when you don’t have large chunks of time to read a full work of fiction. The collection is well-organized, clearly and thoroughly indicized and the pieces are short. Rough Ideas will make you laugh at times, it will teach some history (another passion of the curious Mr. Hough), and it will make you think, deeply, about this world we all inhabit. The Reader will learn about the piano maker whose affiliation with the Third Reich cost it its reputation and almost forced them out of business, why Chopin’s B minor Sonata is harder to play than Liszt’s and the people Stephen Hough calls. “Good Americans.” Stephen Hough quotes the legendary conductor, Hans von Bulow, who wrote “Do not despise the fifteen minutes spent waiting for your carriage to arrive.’ Clearly, Stephen Hough puts his waiting time to good use. Rough Ideas is a great read for musicians, music lovers and everyone else. It is thoughtful and thought-provoking and a glimpse behind the curtain that most of us will never see. As he writes on the final page, “To write is to have read. To speak is to have listened, a conversation with others and with the Past, reflections frozen into Words about things which flow beyond words.”
Pianist Stephen Hough records for the Hyperion Label. His new album, Brahms: The Final Piano Pieces, was released in January. His new book, Rough Ideas is available now on Farrar, Strauss and Giroux. For a link to Stephen Hough’s music and my full interview, visit wvxu.org.
