Since 2007, author Kazuo Ishiguro has written song lyrics for the award-winning vocalist Stacey Kent, which have been set to music by composer and saxophonist Jim Tomlinson.
In March 2024, this collaborative union was set in print as those lyrics were published in a new book, The Summer We Crossed Europe in the Rain: Lyrics for Stacey Kent. And that same month we celebrated this new publication here in our Queen Elizabeth Hall, with Kent and Tomlinson performing some of their Ishiguro-penned tracks, before the writer sat down to discuss his work with journalist Samira Ahmed.
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The event was opened by Ishiguro himself who explained the backstory to how he, Kent and Tomlinson first came to work together, and also gave credit to illustrator Bianca Bagnarelli whose exquisite illustrations bring the newly printed lyrics to life. This video of the event showcases a brief performance by Kent and Tomlinson before giving way to the talks, as Ahmed first interviews Ishiguro alone, before being joined by his musical partners.
0:00 | Introduction by Kazuo Ishiguro
5:50 | Performance by Stacey Kent, Jim Tomlinson and Art Hirahara (Part 1)
INTERVIEW WITH Kazuo Ishiguro and Samira Ahmed
11:17 | Writing song lyrics before beginning to write fiction
17:29 | A good novel, like a good song, should haunt you
20:17 | The perspective given by the passing of time
23:27 | Memories: “They can’t take that away from me”
31:51 | Audience Question: “Has winning a nobel prize changed you or your work?
34:03 | Audience Question: “How do you choose the titles for you novels?”
39:13 | Audience Question: “Musical vs Literary structure”
45:02 | Audience Question: “What other mediums would you like to explore?”
49:22 | “How have your thoughts on travel changed?”
DISCUSSION WITH Kazuo Ishiguro, Stacey Kent, Jim Tomlinson and Samira Ahmed
55:55 | Kazuo and Stacey’s working process and themes of hope
1:00:44 | Discussing the song ‘Postcard Lovers’
1:06:17 | What is the saddest piece of music in the world?
1:10:40 | Performance by Stacey Kent, Jim Tomlinson and Art Hirahara (Part 2)
’Stacey said, we’re familiar with your books, and they can be pretty sad. That’s OK, that’s your business, but if you’re going to write lyrics for me you can be pretty sad, but you have to give me a tiny bit of hope’.
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2 авг 2024
