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After a year Al & SZ meet again.
20.1 It is a bit sad
to see how unilateral the relationship between AL en SZ really is. While SZ’s
friendship tends to adoration and devotion, AL’s is more and more the demonic
egotistical arrogant individual, he is meant to be. SZ, disappointed about this
attitude of AL tries to trivialize it a bit for his future readers.
20.2 Opus 132 ( the
String Quartet in A – Minor ) also known as String Quartet no.15 written in
1825 by Ludwig von Beethoven
A string quartet is a
musical ensemble of four string players – two violin players, a violist and a
cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group. The string
quartet is one of the most prominent chamber ensembles in classical music, with
most major composers, from the late 18th century onwards, writing string
quartets.
Ever since Haydn's day
the string quartet has been prestigious and considered a true test of the composer's
art. This may be partly because the palette of sound is more restricted than
with orchestral music, forcing the music to stand more on its own rather than
relying on tonal color; or from the inherently contrapuntal tendency in music
written for four equal instruments.
Quartet composition
flourished in the Classical era, with Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert writing
famous series of quartets to set alongside Haydn's. A slight slackening in the
pace of quartet composition occurred in the 19th century; here, composers often
wrote only one quartet, perhaps to show that they could fully command this
hallowed genre, although Antonín Dvořák wrote a series of 14. With the onset of
the Modern era of classical music, the quartet returned to full popularity among
composers, and played a key role in the development of Arnold Schoenberg, Béla
Bartók, and Dmitri Shostakovich especially.
Opus 132 ( the String
Quartet in A – Minor ) by Beethoven consists of five movements
I Assai
sostenuto-Allegro ca 9¼ min
II Allegro
ma non tanto ca 8¼ min
III Canzona
di ringraziamento (Heiliger Dankgesang eines Genesenden an die Gottheit, in der
lydischen Tonart: Molto Adagio ca 15 min
IV Alla
marcia, assai Vivace ca 2 min
V Allegro appassionato
ca 6¼ min
20.3 The Lydian
movement, the “Hymn of Thanksgiving upon Recovery”
The Lydian is the
third movement of Opus 132. Beethoven wrote this piece after recovering from a
serious illness which he had feared to be fatal during the winter of 1824-5.
Out of recognition he headed the movement with the words, "Heiliger
Dankgesang eines Genesenen an die Gottheit, in der lydischen Tonart" (Holy
Song of Thanksgiving to the Divinity, by a convalescent in the Lydian Mode).
20.5 I drain that cup
at every feast…
From “Der König in
Thule” ("The King in Thule"), a six verse poem by Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe, written in 1774. The ballad is composed in an artificially obsolete
poetic language to make it sound like a traditional folk song.
Goethe used it later
in his tragedy Faust (part I, lines 2759–82) as Gretchen's (Margaret)
introduction. The girl ponders who the young man was; she met just a while
before. She sings the text of “The King in Thule” to herself while undressing.
I drain that cup at
every feast…: Al is awed by the Opus 132 for it is barely
playable because of its complexity.
There are things in
music, at least in this music, that cannot be characterized by an adjective…
20.5 “I learned that
Adrian was looking for a text for an Opera…”
AL is working on
different pieces of Music. SZ sees in them early drafts of what will one day be
Adrian’s masterpiece “the Apocalypsis”
- He was increasingly preoccupied
with an interest in Music wedded to the word
- composing Lieder
- taking his material
from…Mediterranean verse, Italian poetry, Divine comedy ( Purgatorio &
Paradiso )
- Paul Verlaine
- William Blake poetry
20.6 Wendell
Kretzschmar has introduced AL to the Café Central Group, a bohemian club of
students, artists, publishers etc. Rüdiger Schildknapp is also one of them
20.7 Rüdiger Schildknapp
His name has been
announced a few times, but in this chapter, we are finally introduced to
Rudiger Schildknapp. What do we need to know ?
-
Born in
Silesia – not a true German then? – In his early thirties
-
Of humble
origin with a sense of social inferiority
-
Grown up
with an abusive father
-
Bad
student
-
Amateur
devoted to literature
-
English
translator
-
Funny /
foolish / boyish
-
Poor /
threadbare clothing / still the looks of an elegant sporty gentleman
-
Handsome
in a Germanic way admired by numerous women : broad shoulders, tall, small
hips, long legs
Opinion SZ: Rüdiger
Schildknapp is an imposter
-
Not sporty
at all
-
Poor
health – tends to TBC
-
More a
flirt than a real lover
-
Takes
advantage of his many female admirers (presents, free lunches etc. )
-
Vain and
very worried about his ageing
20.8 RS has the same eyes as AL ( strange detail –
important ? )
20.9 RS has refused to
help AL with Love’s Labour Lost. But no hard-feelings; RS is very funny and
makes AL laugh a lot
20.10 RZ sounds like a
jealous maiden when speaking about RS
