ENGLISH

Michael Beckerman (Professor of Music, NYU)

          ‘Facts’ and ‘fiction’ are valid ways of telling the story of Dvořák. To the novels in the latter category (such as The White Man’s Spiritual by Zdeněk Mahler, and Josef Škvorecký’s Dvořák in Love) we can now happily add Christian Much’s Goin’ Home and Far Away, a brilliant assembly of historical characters, and a beautifully drawn portrait of the composer himself.

Joseph Horowitz (Author, Music Critic) 

          The American moment is fraught. Commensurately, the American memory is short. In his deeply researched fictional history Goin Home and Far Away, Christian Much remembers a vital cultural chapter Americans have long forgotten: that at the turn of the twentieth century, an eminent musical visitor catalyzed a reverberant debate over national identity. And, as Much’s ambitious time-line makes clear, that debate resounds loudly to this day. 

GERMAN

Christoph Vratz

SWR (South-West German Cultural Radio)

October 04, 2023

A constant oscillation of possible and imagined encounters.

          The novel calls for a critical and historically aware examination of themes such as identity, origin and history.

          The variety and the surprising twists and turns are courageous and original. The author has come up with a bold plot.

          For a novel, the addition of QR codes to the text is impressively innovative.

          With "Goin' Home", Christian Much has written a carefully composed, polyphonic novel (in the truest sense of the word) which aims to impart knowledge and awaken a love of music.

Martin Hoffmeister

MDR (Middle German Cultural Radio)

October 16, 2023

A novel that is able to convey, outline and discuss many issues without raising an ideological finger. 

          By providing insights into the art, thoughts and actions of protagonists such as Dvořák, Amy Beach and Bud Powell, and at the same time discussing topics such as identity and cultural appropriation, author Christian Much creates charged tableaux that deserve a readership far beyond music aficionados.

Ecki Ramon Weber 

Concerti (a leading German music magazine)

November 16, 2023

You learn a lot about American music, feminism, nationalism, cultural appropriation and racism. A stimulating introduction to these topics.

          Christian Much provides a wealth of information and insightful perspectives.