Tore Størvold Interview
Tore Størvold is an associate professor of musicology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. His new book is Dissonant Landscapes: Music, Nature, and the Performance of Iceland. In describing his writing process, Tore explains that “usually, I can always cut the first paragraph of every section, because that paragraph is just me finding my way into the topic and ‘warming up.’ The reader does not need my warmup.“
How did you get to where you are today, professionally?
Like many people, I began undergraduate studies in music in the hopes of becoming a musician. It soon dawned on me that that would never happen. In the meantime I had discovered that it is possible to be a music academic, to research and teach music subjects. To a rather introverted person with a passion for writing, this seemed like the thing to do. I had amazing role models and mentors along the way, but coming from a small town in the middle of Norway I had to figure out a lot of things for myself. While my classmates spent their time in the band rooms rehearsing their instruments, I would be in the library discovering books by critical musicologists. I found music scholars that wrote about music as if it mattered, as if it contained the whole world. And it does. This realization opened up a new realm of thoughts and ideas, and I have never looked back.
Can you please briefly describe the book?