A Past That Is Tangible
Over lunch with a few friends of mine i hadn't seen in maybe a year, we got to talking about our majors in college --- something I suppose all friends do. I asked one of my friends the meaning of her major (Public History) and she told me her specialization was 18th Century Colonialism in the South up to 1776. She then asked about my specialization (for my musicology degree) and I said Early 20th Century America up to 1945 --- she thought it was a scintilating choice. When I said those words, for the first time, a shiver went down my spine and I got to thinking, what is it that led me to this time period, this choice out of the 300 years of history regarding the Western art music tradition. I have always been fascinated it, but why?
A couple of days after this, I found myself watching "Rhapsody in Blue", a fictional biopic about George Gerswhin. There is a scene where Gershwin's "teacher" is telling him to listen to the musical voice inside him like Schubert, Wagner and Beethoven. And then he shows Gershwin a manuscript that was given to him and signed by Brahms. I felt this same chill I had felt at lunch the previous day and it didn't stop there. At Gershwin's premiere of Rhapsody in Blue, the likes of Rachmaninoff and Heifetz showed their faces. And while Gershwin was in Paris, working on what would be An American in Paris, he was introduced to Ravel. Throughout all of this, I was filled with this sense of awe, even though i knew that only so much of this was true. And then, amidst all of these random thoughts and questions, it clicked.
For me, I had always found it very difficult to relate to Beethoven, Mozart or Haydn because of the distance between myself and them. I have no real concept of the age in which they lived other than what I learn in school. But Stravinsky, Dvorak, Mahler, Bartok, Schoenberg all seem so tangible, living in a time that i know, that i'm familiar with --- the time of my grandparents and parents. Living in New York City does nothing but enhance this, passing a house where Mahler lived, playing in a hall where Dvorak's works were premiered. The places have changed but only very little. The knowledge that I am only so far removed from genius, that they were walking, talking and composing is mind-boggling. There is also the question of will we, as in my generation, see another renaissance like the one happening in America in the first 50 years of the 20th century. I often ask my colleagues if we'll ever see another Mozart or Beethoven or does the world that we live in make it impossible fo that to happen. It's a troubling thought knowing that only a short time ago, the time of my parents' childhood, Leonard Bernstein was producing his Young People's Concerts on television, a major network at that.
We may never see something like that again in our lifetime, maybe not for many, many years but as long as we have memories, like that of my teacher who felt that same chill when she took music out of a file cabinet that had Hindemith's signature on it when she studied at Yale, hopefully, people will continue to be inspired. And then maybe, just maybe, something might be done about that whole next American renaissance.
A couple of days after this, I found myself watching "Rhapsody in Blue", a fictional biopic about George Gerswhin. There is a scene where Gershwin's "teacher" is telling him to listen to the musical voice inside him like Schubert, Wagner and Beethoven. And then he shows Gershwin a manuscript that was given to him and signed by Brahms. I felt this same chill I had felt at lunch the previous day and it didn't stop there. At Gershwin's premiere of Rhapsody in Blue, the likes of Rachmaninoff and Heifetz showed their faces. And while Gershwin was in Paris, working on what would be An American in Paris, he was introduced to Ravel. Throughout all of this, I was filled with this sense of awe, even though i knew that only so much of this was true. And then, amidst all of these random thoughts and questions, it clicked.
For me, I had always found it very difficult to relate to Beethoven, Mozart or Haydn because of the distance between myself and them. I have no real concept of the age in which they lived other than what I learn in school. But Stravinsky, Dvorak, Mahler, Bartok, Schoenberg all seem so tangible, living in a time that i know, that i'm familiar with --- the time of my grandparents and parents. Living in New York City does nothing but enhance this, passing a house where Mahler lived, playing in a hall where Dvorak's works were premiered. The places have changed but only very little. The knowledge that I am only so far removed from genius, that they were walking, talking and composing is mind-boggling. There is also the question of will we, as in my generation, see another renaissance like the one happening in America in the first 50 years of the 20th century. I often ask my colleagues if we'll ever see another Mozart or Beethoven or does the world that we live in make it impossible fo that to happen. It's a troubling thought knowing that only a short time ago, the time of my parents' childhood, Leonard Bernstein was producing his Young People's Concerts on television, a major network at that.
We may never see something like that again in our lifetime, maybe not for many, many years but as long as we have memories, like that of my teacher who felt that same chill when she took music out of a file cabinet that had Hindemith's signature on it when she studied at Yale, hopefully, people will continue to be inspired. And then maybe, just maybe, something might be done about that whole next American renaissance.
posted by Imani at 6:29 PM
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