Review: An Equal Music by Vikram Seth

Longtime readers of this blog will recall that Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy is one of my favorite novels.  I have written an essay about the novel’s  themes as well as reviewed the BBC adaptation.  Today, I will be focusing on another of Seth’s novels–An Equal Music–published in 1999. 

While A Suitable Boy has a subplot involving Hindustani classical music, An Equal Music focuses entirely on Western classical music.  Just as the earlier novel demonstrated the breadth of Seth’s research into Hindustani classical music, An Equal Music reveals the immense knowledge the author has of orchestral music–particularly those works written for string quartet. The novel is dedicated to the violinist Philippe Honoré–Seth’s partner at the time.  Perhaps it is not surprising then that the novel’s protagonist and narrator is a violinist. 

On one level, the novel revolves around a love affair between violinist Michael Holme and pianist Julia McNicholl. Michael and Julia were lovers when they were studying at a conservatory in Vienna.  Michael suffered some sort of nervous breakdown and abruptly left Vienna, moving to London. He fell out of touch with Julia, though he never fell out of love with her.  As the novel begins, he suddenly sees her on a bus in London and is desperate to rekindle their relationship.  An opportunity presents itself when Julia comes backstage after a performance of Michael’s quartet.  However, Julia is now married and the mother of a son.  Much of the plot of the novel follows this doomed relationship.

On a deeper level, the novel is about the experience of being a musician and the impact that music has on people.  Many chapters are devoted to rehearsals and performances and references are made to the great orchestral works of Mozart, Haydn and Schubert.  Seth also explores the complex interpersonal dynamics of a quartet– a group that is constantly rehearsing and traveling together.  

Another important aspect of the novel is the impact that deafness has on musicians.  Julia is gradually becoming deaf due to an autoimmune condition. She is trying to continue with her musical career but her condition makes it increasingly difficult to play with other people.  Due to a combination of circumstances, she gets the opportunity to play the piano part in  Schubert’s ““Trout Quintet” with Michael’s quartet. Michael knows about her condition but it has to be kept as hush hush as possible.  Seth sensitively describes the impact of such a disability on a musician–someone for whom the sense of hearing is obviously extremely important. 

In conclusion, I would highly recommend An Equal Music to those who enjoy love stories, especially those with a background in Western classical music.  Those without a musical background will perhaps not get that much out of the novel, though Seth does try to provide context as much as possible. Finally, those who enjoy descriptions of cities such as Vienna and Venice will enjoy the novel. 

I would like to end this post with a link to a video of “The Trout Quintet” performed the Vienna Philharmonic.