contemplation - Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Conductor’s Insight
Conductor’s Insight
Charles Ives 1874 –1954
in ives’s words:
“… as the time goes
on, and after a “secret
conference”, [the
sections] seem to realize
a futility, and begin to
mock “The Question”
— the strife is over for
the moment.”
…
Ives: The Unanswered Question
Subsequently, Romantic era composers would make grand philosophical works like the
Seven Last Words commonplace (think Richard Strauss’ tone poem Also Sprach Zarathustra
or Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony). Just a little after that came one of the most effective
works in this genre, The Unanswered Question by Charles Ives. This brief, but evocative piece
was written in 1906 as part of a pair of works titled “Two Contemplations”. There are three
independent sections within the ensemble: strings sustaining ethereal chords, a calmly
melodic solo trumpet and four wind players to contrast the trumpet. Once again, I will let Ives
speak for himself:
The strings are to represent “the Silences of the Druids — Who Know,
See and Hear Nothing.” The trumpet intones “The Perennial Question of
Existence”, and states it in the same tone of voice each time. But the hunt
for “The Invisible Answer” undertaken by the winds, becomes gradually
more active, fast and louder. “The Fighting Answerers”, as the time goes on,
and after a “secret conference”, seem to realize a futility, and begin to mock
“The Question” — the strife is over for the moment. After they disappear,
“The Question” is asked for the last time, and “The Silences” are heard
beyond in “Undisturbed Solitude.”
The piece is vague enough to have puzzled, fascinated and haunted both musicians
and audiences alike for the past century. It even became the title of a series of famous
lectures given by Leonard Bernstein at Harvard on the universality of music.
Leonard Bernstein at Harvard
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Wagner: Prelude and “Liebestod” from Tristan und Isolde
Richard Wagner
1813 – 1883
In stark contrast to Ives’ compact look at the question of existence,
Wagner’s opera, Tristan and Isolde, is a four-hour long epic on
the same question (and one could argue that it does no better
at resolving it!). Unfortunately, it is easy to get stuck on the
surface of the storyline with magic potions and love affairs.
However, the plot begins to make more sense when we look
at it through the philosophical lens of Arthur Schopenhauer.
Wagner was immediately taken by Schopenhauer’s idea of
two worlds with which we struggle — one in which we are
consumed by desires and dreams and the other where we
fail against the unknowable reality. So when Tristan and Isolde
seem to be pathetically lamenting their impossible love for hours
on end, it is actually a vehicle for discussion about the two worlds
of human desire and reality.
We finish our concert with the Prelude and “Love-Death” from Tristan
and Isolde — the beginning and the end of the opera. The Prelude
beautifully sets up this opera, giving us the famous “musical question” in the opening cello line and
wind chords. The music then seems to contemplate the question of existence along with us, nearly
finding answers, but
always falling back into
darkness. Suddenly,
the music takes on an
assertive quality when
we reach the “Love-
Death.” It starts with a
far away breath, but
then steadily builds
in intensity. In an
ecstatic trance, Isolde
decides that she would
rather die than give
into the cold reality
of life without Tristan.
Interestingly enough,
Wagner would return
to this same question in Parsifal, but this time the hero chooses to overcome his desires in order to
face reality. So in the end, like any good evening filled with philosophical undertakings, we leave
with more questions than when we started — perhaps only learning that magic potions are best
left untouched.
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