The Legacy of Perception

McEwan's knowledge of the profession of music and musicians is born from a familiarity with the inner workings of the field over several decades. This has arisen through friendships with many professional and amateur musicians, regular attendance at concerts, and his general interest in the field of performance since he was a child. The non-musician who reads his novels is presented with a narrative that relates the world of classical music in an accessible manner while in turn observing and commentating on its familiar scenarios, both positive and negative, to professional musicians who work in the field on a daily basis. Across several texts including novels and libretti his narratives dissect the presence of the classical musician in British society. In so doing he manages to reinforce certain aspects of perception that are generally known to the public while illuminating others. In discussing the libretto for the opera For You, that he conceived with the composer Michael Berkeley, and which is centred on a composer who is also a conductor, he commented on the nature of genius, egotism, and self-centredness in a musician as it can appear to others:

This quote exemplifies the approach of McEwan towards assessing the reason why musicians might be seen differently to others. Chapters 2 and 3 examine the aspects of sublimity and the powerful nature of music on the individual. This chapter evaluates the public perception and expectation of British society towards the professional musical world by examining the portrayals in Amsterdam and For You most specifically. As McEwan has commented, the composer can be seen as a ‘metaphor for creativity’ and the ‘irresistible’ quality of this view is founded upon his knowledge and perception of the subject matter. McEwan's approach in For You is to portray a larger-than-life composer whose character has few morals and a considerable ego, and to veil these observations with a measure of humour.