In His Paris Concerts, Max Richter Pleads to an Indifferent World

On stage at Philharmonie de Paris this past Saturday, before a full house of transfixed listeners, the composer Max Richter repeated remarks that he has made in several recent interviews (including in this magazine): that his latest album, In a Landscape, is his attempt to resolve polarities in a divided world. It was the first of two concerts Richter performed that day as part of his In a Landscape world tour, which will last well into 2025. 

Such grandiose statements can seem naive when you look at the news at any given moment. Yet Richter is a musician who counts John Cage, the 20th century composer-philosopher, among his influences. Cage believed that music was capable of quieting our minds and, in doing so, leaving us open to new influences and ideas. 

Richter, too, believes in the potential of music to crack us open and create lasting change. Saturday’s concerts revealed him to be genuine in his convictions. In concert, his compositions became pleas to an indifferent world.

Performed by an ensemble of just six musicians, including Richter, the music on In a Landscape contains many signatures of his oeuvre: sorrowful themes that begin quietly, repeat and then build in strength and emotion, before diminishing to silence. The violins, resembling the quality of the human voice, were in some pieces tremulous (“They Will Share Us With Their Wings”), in others doleful ( “Love Song (After JE)”) and others still affectionate (“Movement, Before All Flowers”). Beneath them, the brooding cellos, synths and piano churned, as if to suggest a subconscious turmoil. The impression was of someone raising their voice despite being filled with doubt.

On stage, as on the album, each piece was interspersed with field recordings Richter had made on his iPhone: the sounds of cutlery clinking on a plate, or of a distant airport announcement. The contrast between Richter’s brooding, emotive compositions and these ordinary sounds of the exterior world effectively conveyed his point about our divided world. It raised the question as to whether his attempt to “resolve polarities,” however convincing, may ultimately fall on deaf ears.

In the second half of the concert, Richter performed his second album The Blue Notebooks, which shot him to international renown upon its release 20 years ago. He recounted that the album had been written in opposition to the Iraq war, describing it as an “old-fashioned protest album” composed during a period of doubt. The album contains “On the Nature of Daylight,” a song that certainly has not fallen on deaf ears: since its release, it has featured on no less than 10 series or films, including Arrival,  Shutter Island and The Leftovers.

Joining him on stage to read excerpts from Franz Kafka which, again, act as interludes throughout the album, was French-Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani, who has always been a clear and compelling voice for women living under oppressive regimes. Richter couldn’t have chosen a better collaborator to help drive home his message of fighting for justice in times of turbulence.