Some women, when they’re expecting, pick up Dr. Spock.
Brooklyn’s Simone Dinnerstein picked up Bach — his Goldberg Variations, made famous by Glenn Gould and Hannibal Lecter, who listened to it throughout “Silence of the Lambs.”
Once she felt she truly understood it, she recorded it — and that selfmade CD outsold the White Stripes, hit No. 1 on Billboard’s classical charts and won her entry to concert halls around the world. Now, seven years later, she has a new Bach CD out and will perform excerpts from it Jan. 23 at Columbia’s Miller Theatre.
“In Bach, everything’s pared down,” she says. “It’s like seeing the buttresses of a cathedral — they’re holding up a building, but they’re beautiful on their own.”
Here’s what’s in her library.
The Young Unicorns
by Madeleine L’Engle
I studied at the Manhattan School of Music pre-college and was fascinated with Morningside Heights, where this book takes place. One of the main characters is a young, blind pianist. It’s a complex mystery and music permeates the whole book, which is centered around the Cathdral of St. John the Divine.
Saturday
by Ian McEwan
An exquisitely crafted book that I feel convinced is based on the structure of the Goldberg Variations. McEwan mentions Angela Hewitt’s record of it early on. The whole book takes place in one day, and there’s a circularity to it. It’s divided into small sections, but it’s a rich woven tapestry that builds in momentum.
Babel Tower
by A.S. Byatt
I like books that have several strands in them, different storylines that intersect, and “Babel Tower” has that in spades. It’s part of a trilogy about a headstrong single mother who’s living in London in the ’60s. Byatt draws on fairy tales and writes each story line in a different voice. It’s virtuosic writing and very moving.
The History of Love
by Nicole Krauss
Nicole and I met at an arts fundraiser for PS 321, the school where my husband teaches. She asked me to recommend a piano teacher for her son. I started reading her books after that and really liked her writing — it’s almost like counterpoint with words. This is not only deeply structured, but deeply felt.