Pro
* Introduction of a brilliant musician to English-language readers
* Blending of biography and history and philosophy
* Whimsical artistic illustrations
Con
* Time moves very quickly. Some chapters seem underdeveloped

Thank you to Joonas Sildre, Adam Cullen (translator), Plough Publishing House, and NetGalley for an advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I had a hard time with this one. I even just skimmed large sections.
The drawing for art was fun. And while the period was deary I'm not sure why this had to be so beige and dreary.
It just didn't hold my attention.

Although we are learning about the life of a composer, he speaks in a more general way about the creative process. We experience the lows and the highs, we see the birth of inspiration. And for reading, it is recommended that we listen to his music, which makes this already gripping comic even more atmospheric.
I really liked the visual world, the drape colour gives it a kind of sepia tone. Only the portrayal of the music was more captivating. The notes, the five lines and the melody rush across the page in places, while in others the harmony makes a big impression. As a musician, I particularly liked these parts.

The narrative is a bit choppy, but the art more than makes up for it; Sildre's use of line to evoke music is exquisite.

Received via NetGalley.

Between Two Sounds by Joonas Sildre, 224 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL, BIOGRAPHY. Plough Publishing House, 2024. $26.
Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW
Arvo Pärt, world-famous Estonian composer, studied and wrote in a Soviet environment. Those circumstances hindered his ability to be heard, but did not change his ability to compose according to the ways he felt inspired. Ignoring those who would silence him, Pärt continued to chase his dreams to create.
In this graphic novel biography, readers get to see the sounds that affected Pärt and how his compositions affected his audiences in a way that teased my eyes into hearing the music throughout the book. The illustrations and overall message are inspiring, though the story itself feels choppy as readers jump through scenes of highs and lows in Pärt’s life.
Most of the characters are Estonian. The violence rating is for mentions of war and bombs.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

I love the uniqueness of this graphic nonfiction title. However, the art and how the story is presented is a little dry. It switches back and forth between narrative styles a lot. The history is intriguing and I have never seen a graphic nonfiction or any book for that matter on the composer, so I appreciate the effort made to teach this in a creative manner. I just had trouble following the story at times.

Between Two Sounds is a graphic novel that tells the story of renowned Estonian Composer Arvo Part. Part is the 2nd most performed contemporary classical music composer behind John Williams. Readers don’t need to be classical music aficionados to leave this graphic novel with a deeper sense of the music and cultural zeitgeists which swept mid-20th century art. The book revolves around Part’s musical, artistic, and spiritual passage to the development of a new, classical music sound- tintinnabula. Part’s development of a compositional and performance style, with is based on minimalist compositions. Readers are introduced to music rooted in early Christian/religious music, particularly Gregorian Chants. His development of this style was based on his mystical journey-which mirror the journeys of early Eastern Orthodox Christian mystics. comprised of 3 stages=purgative, illuminative, unitive. The last step requires a “leap of faith” where the mystic sojourner, trusting in God and the universe, gathers his faith and casts himself into the “musical” and artistic abyss. The book charts his journey to this style and his “sound” through personal and professional trials-which include a physical illness which requires a restrictive diet and is physically painful and exhausting. Professionally, he can’t get on board with Soviet Orthodoxy or take “god” out of his compositions. He’s unable to comply with the Soviet Block’s artistic stylistic preferences-nationalistic, sufficiently “of the people”, and martial. Eventually, tiring of his continued antics, the Soviet Union expels him to Israel-his wife is ethnically Jewish. After living abroad, Part is finally invited back to his beloved Estonia, and his style is celebrated. Slidre uses the graphic novel format to deal with complex ideas and themes including cultural pride, love of country, religion-mystic journeys, cultural impact of socialism and Soviet consolidation. The format is perfect to develop the framework-use of deft illustration explores these ideas (with, ironically minimal text at key junctures). Excellent not only as a reference source for younger readers, but as an overview of the importance of culture ways and religion. The historical changes brought by the Soviet Bloc are a bonus by product of this approach. Teaching institutions, libraries, cultural centers, collections focused on Spiritual journeys would benefit from the inclusion of this book.

I know very little about Estonia or the majority of composers out there. Between Two Sounds introduces you to a bit of both in a simple yet engaging way. Being a graphic novel allows it to focus more on how events shaped and affected Arvo Pärt rather than his trajectory as a composer getting lost within the historical events (WWII, Soviet rule). I paired reading this with listening to some of his pieces which I felt enhanced both the writing and the music.

i have never heard of arvo pärt before this arc but i always like learning about new things and people , so getting this arc (thank you netgalley and publisher) was so much fun! it’s like!a history lesson! with a sound track! me encanta! and the fact that it’s illustrated too the art is incredible! i loved every second of reading this!

A really beautiful graphic biography of Arvo Pärt and his exploration of Christianity. The musical theme is translated visually in fun ways, including simple colors and the repeated visual dot theme. I am so glad that this translation from Estonian to English has made it accessible to me. Now excuse me while I go listen to some of his music...

Between Two Sounds was a nice introduction to the life of Estonian composer
Arvo Pärt. I enjoyed the minimalist drawing style approach to the graphic novel. Not knowing anything about the composer going in, this book is a good starting point to learning more about the composer.

Between Two Sounds is wonderfully stylish, inviting, and a great use of the comics form. I appreciated both the design and narrative in this book.