Konrad and Alexandra (PDF) - Rolf Gross

listen to its musical message without attaching yourself to the underlying words of the poem."He bowed with a mock-apologetic smile. "Copies of Dehmel’s poem will be available after the performance."The music was indeed exceedingly eloquent. It began in a dark, wistful mood in the bases. The succeeding pessimisticpassage ended in a dramatic culmination, a highly emotional cry for justice, love, or salvation. Thereafter the moodbrightened. A consoling interlude, maybe some higher power trying to elevate the crying soul, led to a vision of a sweetand beautiful, celestial realm, forgiveness, heaven, peace?This time the applause was more convincing, most people seemed comfortable with the musical vernacular. Thedissatisfied minority was younger than Schönberg."It describes Wagner arriving at the gates of heaven after the Götterdämmerung," said Friedrich loud enough for peopleto turn around. His sister punched his side.With an annoyed glance at Friedrich his father rose. "Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to act as a moderator." Hepronounced the word in English. "I am not a professional musician, but a musically interested layman who has heard thispiece before. Would Herr Schönberg take the trouble and elaborate on his initial claim that it musically transcendsWagner?""Unfortunately, my critics are right." Schönberg smiled sadly. "I like Friedrich Dahl’s quip, it hits not far from Dehmel’spoem and my personal feelings today. The piece is heavily indebted to Wagner. The treatment of the instruments, themanner of composition, and much of its sonority is pure Wagner. I was twenty-two when I wrote this piece. I feltcompelled to profess emotions which the music of Wagner, Mahler, and Herrn Strauss’ Tondichtungen had stirred in me."He smiled at Strauss. "The method of developing the variations and the disparity of the measures I borrowed fromBrahms. But there are distinct Schönbergian elements too—if you permit me to call them that—the broad-spreadmelodies, the use of contrapuntal confrontations of the bases and the melody, and a short interlude of three bars ofatonal development. These elements are what I wanted you to hear, because they interest me more and more today."He finished his comments with a bow to Richard Strauss, "Much of the success of this piece I owe to the generous andcourageous support of Herrn Strauss."Strauss mumbled, "I continue to disavow any paternity of this piece," which was greeted with general laughter.Schönberg returned to his lecture. "The last piece was written two months ago by one of my promising students, Herr Dr.Anton von Webern. Anton, would you please stand." He extended his arm in the direction of a young, clean-shavenintellectual with glasses, who rose. Two young people applauded. Webern bowed awkwardly."I chose this piece, because Herr von Webern, no longer beholden to the musical giants that held my generation in thrall,composed the kind of music that I have been dreaming of. I believe this very short piece—we once timed it at a mereeight minutes—is a milestone in our search for a new style of composition. It leaves my Verklärte Nacht far behind."It is written for four strings, which is intentional as a thought-provoking deception as well as a way to increase its clarity.Structurally it is not a quartet in the classical sense. It is a tentative experiment, in which Herr Webern tried to use a newstructural and tonal approach to composition by going back to Bach’s daring harmonies."I present this piece for the first time here, in order to subject it to your discriminating judgment. It may not produce anunpremeditated hearing pleasure, it does not adhere to a given key, it is atonal throughout. For the time being Webernuses some contrapuntal elements, which he may drop again in the future. However, unlike Bach, the theme, a simple lineof twelve notes you will easily discern in the very beginning, is not repeated as such. Each note of this sequence giveseach of the twelve elaborations that follow a specific musical color."Try to hear this music by visualizing these blocks of color as if they formed a non-figurative, abstract painting, each blockexpressing a specific emotion."He smiled and bowed towards the hostess."Herr Webern has dedicated this piece to you, Mrs. Dahl, as a contribution to the controversy of this evening: TheSpiritual in Art, Music and Painting."Alexandra sighed. The music, the polemic, and the didactic expositions of Herr Schönberg went over her head. All shehad ever heard in Western music was Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake to which Aunt Sophia had taken her before Otto wasborn. But she had some experience in seeing colors with music. Maybe that would open this music to her. Expectantlyshe relaxed and closed her eyes.In the beginning the first violin played the promised sequence of twelve tones. The notes would have formed a simplemelody-like line, if they had been set in a customary key. They turned out to be the twelve notes of the chromatic scalebut not in that order.In the subsequent section the cello held, like a counterpoint, the first note of the series two octaves lower, and above thatpure tone the other instruments performed an elaborate, elegiac musical figure. They ended in an ear-splitting, dissonantchord.Suddenly extraordinary vibrant colors filled her mind. They formed geometrical shapes, lines, circles and spirals. Thecello appeared as a dark red circular object that changed in shape with the instrument’s volume. In the beginning theother three instruments each had a specific color attached, the viola was yellow, the second violin green, and the firstviolin deep blue. These colors were not stable, or primary, nor did they continue to be attached to particular instruments,94