Submitted by jsdubois015 on Wed, 02/17/2010 - 17:49
I was thinking again today about Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and what I had written about it in my last post. I remembered some time ago I read a short little anecdote about the Fifth Symphony. It was from a collection of Robert Schumann's critical writings. Unfortunately, I don't have the book readily available so I'll just paraphrase the story.
Schumann, although in the story I believe it was one of his alter egos, Florestan or Eusebius, though I don't remember which, attended a performance of Beethoven's Fifth. He noted a young boy sitting next to him who was listening intently. During the mysterious transition from the scherzo into the finale, the young boy began to shake and suddenly clutched at Schumann's arm. Schumann ask, "What is the matter?" "I am afraid," the boy replied.
Regardless of whether Schumann was recounting an actual event or not, I love this story. This boy was so caught up in the music. To him, the music was real to the point of evoking an incredibly deep emotional response. What was the boy afraid of? I like to think that he was aware of the deep struggle inherent in the music of the Fifth Symphony and that he embodied this struggle in a hero attempting to overcome fate itself. At the transition into the finale, the boy was afraid the hero might lose his battle and all would be lost.
I've talked about the intellectual nature of music, but that doesn't rule out the clear child-like perception that we should have. In this emotionally stagnant world we live in today, it's sometimes difficult to relate to the kind of reaction this boy had to a piece of music. You can think this story is a little silly, but it's the perfect example of the power that music has. I think to some degree we've lost our perception of that power.
Getting Caught Up in the Music
Submitted by jsdubois015 on Wed, 02/17/2010 - 17:49
I was thinking again today about Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and what I had written about it in my last post. I remembered some time ago I read a short little anecdote about the Fifth Symphony. It was from a collection of Robert Schumann's critical writings. Unfortunately, I don't have the book readily available so I'll just paraphrase the story.
Schumann, although in the story I believe it was one of his alter egos, Florestan or Eusebius, though I don't remember which, attended a performance of Beethoven's Fifth. He noted a young boy sitting next to him who was listening intently. During the mysterious transition from the scherzo into the finale, the young boy began to shake and suddenly clutched at Schumann's arm. Schumann ask, "What is the matter?" "I am afraid," the boy replied.
Regardless of whether Schumann was recounting an actual event or not, I love this story. This boy was so caught up in the music. To him, the music was real to the point of evoking an incredibly deep emotional response. What was the boy afraid of? I like to think that he was aware of the deep struggle inherent in the music of the Fifth Symphony and that he embodied this struggle in a hero attempting to overcome fate itself. At the transition into the finale, the boy was afraid the hero might lose his battle and all would be lost.
I've talked about the intellectual nature of music, but that doesn't rule out the clear child-like perception that we should have. In this emotionally stagnant world we live in today, it's sometimes difficult to relate to the kind of reaction this boy had to a piece of music. You can think this story is a little silly, but it's the perfect example of the power that music has. I think to some degree we've lost our perception of that power.