In 'Counterpoint' Bach Helps An Art Critic Mourn A Mother Whose Criticism Lingers
The Washington Post's Philip Kennicott suffered his mother's harsh words and actions throughout childhood. His book is partly a need to acknowledge her "sadness and anger and unaccountable rages."
How can one mourn a parent whose harsh judgments frame childhood? This question haunts Philip Kennicott's Counterpoint: A Memoir of Bach and Mourning.
Kennicott is the 's senior art and architecture critic. His book poses a second, equally challenging set of questions. "What does it mean to truly a piece of music?" How to write about it? How to learn to play an instrument in a way that satisfies, while not embarking on a professional career? And finally: How to understand Johann Sebastian Bach's Goldberg Variations,
