Composer Max Richter profiled as his 'On the Nature of Daylight' becomes a streaming phenomenon

47h

Summary

A new profile by Jane Bua examines composer Max Richter, who was visited at his studio on a thirty-one-acre spread in England, home to three alpacas.
Richter's 2004 piece 'On the Nature of Daylight' has appeared in movies and shows including 'Arrival,' 'Hamnet,' and 'The Last of Us.'
Bua says Richter became the best-selling living artist on the classical label Deutsche Grammophon, with the first classical album to exceed two billion streams.
Richter has dozens of albums, an Oscar nomination, a perfume with Comme des Garçons, and an upcoming show with Oprah at the Sphere.
Philip Glass is Richter's forebear and influence; Richter bristles when people call him an 'ambient' artist.

Bua said Richter's simple, cyclical pieces are catnip for the masses—uncomplicated, digestible, and easy to stream in the background.
Bua said Richter is likely on the soundtrack whenever a movie character is sad, and that his 'On the Nature of Daylight' is particularly unavoidable.
Bua opined that Richter's music is less engaging than that of Philip Glass.
Bua said Richter, a student of the traditional classical world, turned into something approaching a mainstream rock star.
Richter insists that he does not concern himself with the commercial side of his success.

The Composer Who Makes You Crynewyorker.com· 47h
The New Yorker's daily newsletter leads with Jane Bua's profile of composer Max Richter, whose "On the Nature of Daylight" has appeared in "Arrival," "Hamnet," and "The Last of Us," and who, Bua says, became Deutsche Grammophon's best-selling living artist with the first classical album to exceed two billion streams. The newsletter also reports that Nvidia C.E.O. Jensen Huang has resigned following news of multiple extramarital affairs, that legal scholar Richard Posner has died, and that Democrats won midterm races in unlikely places, particularly the South.