Konrad and Alexandra (PDF) - Rolf Gross

Alexandra bit her lip. She thought that she might be able to do that. "But such a picture would be entirely personal anduninteresting to anybody besides myself. One would have to work on such a canvas for a long time to make itunderstandable to other people. I don’t have the painterly skills for such a task. However, may I ask a question, hasanybody besides myself seen colors like that?"To her utter surprise nobody had.With a laugh Kandinsky exclaimed. "Dear Princess Dadiani, the Mingrelians are well known to practice witchcraft. So asnot to be suspected of that, will you explain to us how you succeeded in converting music into abstract images, a trick Iwould very much like to learn from you!"Claudia, anger in her dark eyes, was watching her friend with increasing alarm, ready to come to her rescue. Konradraised his eyebrows.Alexandra waved her hand in apology. "I am afraid I can tell you only little about this phenomenon. I haveseen colors to music since childhood, but never anything like tonight. Several years ago I saw very intense colors in asituation between life and death. Tonight was the first time that I saw colors of comparable intensity to music…maybebecause Herr Webern’s music created another extraordinary emotional state in me. I cannot explain my own visions,much less tell you how to see colors in music."Friedrich inquired whether he could ask the two composers and his father to join in this discussion."Friedrich!" objected Claudia. "I don’t want Alexandra to become another psychological case study. Please leave heralone!"But Alexandra saw a chance to learn something about the unresolved phenomenon of her seeing colors under certaincircumstances and encouraged Friedrich.Later, after most guests had left, they formed a larger circle with the Dahls, Katharina, and the two composers to discuss,as Kandinsky put it, the question of how to see music in colors.Had Herr Schönberg or Herr Webern ever seen colors in connection with their music? After all, Herr Schönberg hadadvocated this technique as a way to understand Herrn Webern’s piece.The surprising answer was that Webern did and Schönberg admitted that he had been unsuccessful to date."It often happens," Schönberg said wistfully, "that my students teach me things, I don’t know or cannot do. Seeing musicin colors is one of them, composing abstract music like Herr Webern does, is another. In the last case I understand why, Icannot shake off Wagner’s and Richard Strauss’ influence. However, the colors elude me entirely."Kandinsky smiled at Alexandra. "Dear Frau Doctor, may I reveal that you had a fascinating vision of moving colors andshapes during the performance of Herr Webern’s piece."Without waiting for her answer, with a slightly mocking undertone he addressed Claudia’s father. "And what do you haveto say Herr Professor, does psychology have a theory for this phenomenon? Can you enlighten us on how to see music?It would be of great importance to all of us."Professor Dahl agreed that there was a rare phenomenon that some called Synesthesia. Certain people saw colorsconnected with letters and words and others did in fact see colors associated with music. The trouble was that whenexamined scientifically the phenomenon proved illusive and irreproducible, and worse the subjects often showedsymptoms of a noetic engrandissement, which made the examination of their visions difficult and in his opinion worthless.He let his annoyed eyes rest on Kandinsky. At this time he could contribute little to their illumination.Kandinsky turned to Webern as the only other person who had admitted to seeing colors. Webern receded inembarrassment. He finally conceded that he could see entire Farbensymphonien, color symphonies, at will and at anytime. They were the inspiration for his music. In fact this ability had driven him to abandon philosophy and study musicwith Herrn Schönberg. However, he could not explain these phenomena, they had been with him since childhood. In fact,he had gone to great troubles to teach Herrn Schönberg, who was a gifted painter, without success."Maybe we should not try to analyze any of these sensations scientifically," commented Kandinsky with a smile at hisgruzinska printsessa. "Maybe we should just lend our ears to music, open our eyes to painting, and refrain fromrationalizing. The spiritually gifted among us will know how to build a bridge between these two arts."Two weeks later Alexandra received an envelope from Anton von Webern with two short pieces for piano, one atranscription of the piece for four strings they had heard, the other an entirely new composition. They were dedicated toher with admiration. Above and below the staves Webern had, in a tiny but beautiful hand, carefully noted the colors hehad seen in composing the music. Looking at the manuscript, she immediately noticed that Webern had seen entirelydifferent colors from her. As Claudia’s father had indicated, the phenomenon was not reproducible.96