A bit of the old Donald J. to start the day.
I think the pre-electronics, pre-recording, pre-broadcasting composers had the isolation necessary for concentration and creativity.
Back in those days if you wanted to hear music you had to go where people played it. Isn’t it interesting that to this day none of the orchestral instruments need to be plugged in.
It amazes me that the piano, with 88 identical hammer-driving mechanisms, was invented and manufactured way back then. The action is the same today as it was a hundred years ago (I think). The grand has a more complex action than uprights. These actions, when in good condition, work perfectly and silently and are nothing but wood, felt and a little metal.
Thanks for the ping
Beethoven’s Fifth must be the most recognized in the world.
As to the composer and trump character comparisons. Perhaps. Trump a genius? That to be decided He is certainly unafraid to take on the impossible.
He is an enigma. On one hand playing one of the elite -high fashion, opera, symphonies and seems to feel comfortable in the role. While simultaneously giving the impression he feels just as comfortable in tennis shoes, walking the streets of the neighborhood and speaking with cabbies, little old ladies sticking their heads out of the windows yelling down to him.
Off to dig thru the LPs and listen to Vangelis, Mannheim Steamroller. Are the lives of these men being taught today? Lives and music? Many composers are known by name but few have a knowledge as to what symphonies they wrote.
Mendel’s Hallelujah Chorus is always a favorite. Hearing the music fills you with spirit right to your core.
Leo Delibes Flower Duet from Lakme is a favorite recorded and constantly played. Joan Sutherland version. A treasure.
Make it a great weekend. It’s raining here which is gladly appreciated.
Perhaps Schiller should get some credit for the Ode to Joy (An der Freude); a great German Romantic poet. That said, the Ninth is very moving and one of the great pieces of music if not the greatest. H. L. Mencken was also a great American thinkers. He won’t please the religionists, but when I read him I keep saying “oh yeah” to myself. They don’t make ‘em like that any more.
I ditched regular college midway through for music school. Loved loved loved loved loved music theory and harmony - the mathematic rationality of it that could also be so beautiful. It's pure math, but it's moving math. So ... this sentence that you wrote matters:
"... And no doubt, that's because music lies outside the sphere of rational thought."
Amongst composers - i.e. those who love music theory which contains the building blocks of all the great works - you will find the most rational minds in the universe (at least when they are at it) - whatever their occasional emotional imbalances were. By most rational I mean ... without error ... at least when composing, because you can't hide an error. A man might be a liberal and a composer, but he what probably doesn't know is he is never a liberal when he is composing, unless he's composing crap.
Music is especially beautiful to me because what you said is true, but totally untrue. Once you understand music theory, harmony, how it all fits together, it is pure pure pure math - and that's why it's so cool. It's the coldest possible thing - numbers - but put together in certain ways, temporarily violating the numbers on purpose for a short time and then coming back to them - that is at the basis of everything beautiful in music. So there is no line between the rational and the beautiful and the order of the universe. I wish people didn't always have to make such a mushy emotional cliche of God all the time - it's not that the beauty in the universe lies IN the order, it's that the order and the beauty are not separated.
I could go off on a major tear about the rationality of music. It's not capable of anything BUT being rational if it is to also be beautiful. And yet, rationality alone - which is necessary - is not sufficient.
HL's expression of wit is similar, and that's probably why he sees Beethoven's greatness not just as a matter of talent - but of character - and also why Beethoven saw composing not as expressing talent but as an act of glorifying God. All these things are the not different from each other!
Trump definitely has this. His isn't wit or music ... it's his own concoction ... but what runs through the 3 of them ... reminds me of something I read that was making the point that 'blessed are the pure of heart' does not mean 'good, moral, righteous' ... it means ... 'singular of heart, singular of purpose' ... a little like a dog just knows it's purpose, is not capable of violating it because he can't imagine anything outside it, or it would just be too uncomfortable to live outside it, without integrity (which probably seems like a funny thing to say about Trump to many - but I think it's the reality - I think Trump is totally true to himself.) It could almost appear as dumb or simple, but it isn't ... it's mark is that it's totally unmarked by confusion, doubt, contradiction. That's also the mark of the truly rational and also the truly beautiful. I'm totally sure it's how Beethoven composed, even in between bouts of that there were bouts of frustration and pain.
I'm totally rambling out a not very good composition ... but it's Friday so what the hell.
Glad you pinged ... thanks for posting ... and happy weekend!