Classical music aficionados know to look forward to the cadenza—an often-improvised ornamental solo found in concerti performances or compositions. Often unmetered, written in a “free” rhythmic style, and completely unique, the cadenza is also at the heart of André Aciman’s new book, Find Me. The sequel to his 2007 novel, Call Me By Your Name, Find Me re-introduces two beloved characters, Elio and Oliver, and reestablishes the importance of music—cadenzas included—in their world and ours.
To celebrate the release of Find Me on October 29, Aciman created his own Find Me Spotify playlist, which reflects the soundtrack to the 2017 Call Me By Your Name movie directed by Luca Guadagnino.
Aciman’s Call Me By Your Name centers on a 17-year-old pianist named Elio and 24-year-old grad student named Oliver, two young men who come together unexpectedly for one romantic, bliss-filled summer in Italy. Aciman’s much-anticipated sequel, Find Me, revisits the men 10, 15, and 20 years later, when Elio has become a professional musician in Paris and Oliver is a tenured professor in New England. Aciman explains that part of the plot involves a cadenza that was performed—and supposedly lost—during the Holocaust that is passed down as a gift and expression of love from one man to another.
Both the movie soundtrack and Aciman’s playlist combine classical sonatas and Bach compositions with original songs from singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens, as well as ’80s rock. “Elio . . . is, after all, a kid, and he should be interested in rock and roll and contemporary music,” Aciman explained in an exclusive For The Record interview. “But he’s also a kid who’s grown up with traditional music. The classical, mature music of the film represents both Oliver’s older age and the family’s long classical tradition.”
This musical taste reflects Aciman’s own. “By the time I was 10 years old, I was already very interested in classical music,” he said. “I was a big fan of The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, and The Beatles when I was young. I loved that stuff, but it was always classical music that I would sort of lean to in the end.” The multilingual Aciman noted that he also listens to French, Italian, and British rock.
Recent Comments