Chapter 23
April 16, 2021
Just started reading Schumann's collection of writings ``Music & Musicians."
Who were Herz & Hunten that he referenced? What do their music sound like? I want to know & film for YT audience to delve into Schumann's soundscape.
Interesting that Schumann refers to himself as a 3rd person...
Davidites: ``secret society"
I'm so excited to keep reading about Davidites... Davidsbündlertänze in my head now.
Chopin's Variations Op.2 - the critic is written like a story, it's Florestan who asserts the ``hats off, genius..." comment, even though everywhere, Schumann is given the credit.
But Schumann is "I" in this essay, different (distinct) from Florestan, Eusebius & Master Raro.
Fascinating! Wish I read this before I performed the variations because I always thought the connection of Schumann-Chopin in theory, not like this fiction-like piece in its original (albeit English translated)
Schumann isn't "I"
It's Julius - another fictional character as narrator.
Gee, so there's 4 in his head?!
Next article: Florestan's speech.
So he's the leader of Davidites, declaring ``slayers of Philistines"?!
What did he mean by Philistines?
Salon music like Herz & Hunten's?
Eusebius was the jokester?
I thought it was Florestan/Vult...
Ah, so philistines mean:
people who pretend they understand the greatness and musical mastery of composers without knowing ``simplest musical laws" and dare to praise Beethoven (for instance)
This could be understood as an elitist anger at ``commoners" who talk during performance of music or doesn't know what other compositions Beethoven wrote and is thus easily gullible by Florestan or what pieces of music actually sound like & easily gullible by Eusebius.
Or, it could be understood as a tribute of respect for music & its composers & Florestan/Schumann despises pretension of expertise - because only knowledgeable listeners have the right to judge someone as great as Beethoven.
Only those who can appreciate the intricacies or even have the basic musical knwoledge beyond the program notes have the right to review music.
Florestan hates triviality: ``must a great man always find a thousand dwarfs at his heels?"
He calls them ``Beethovenians"
Eusebius repeatedly gets criticized for being too subjective in his fancies.
Ludwig Schunke wrote under name of Jonathan - why all these pseudonyms?
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