Modern music and musicians : [Encyclopedic] . use the composer seldom delayed longenough in any one key to make it worth while to write them in ! In short, the rules sanctioned by the greatest tone poets, and whichare derived from the inmost being of music, are despised; the objectswhich music should strive for are pushed to one side, and instead of abeautiful symmetry we have immoderation. 156 FELIX MENDELSSOHN-RARTHOLDY 157 While for students of art literature there arc examples of all that hasbeen said near at hand, many will call this utterance a Capuchins ser-mon and will answer that stan
Modern music and musicians : [Encyclopedic] . use the composer seldom delayed longenough in any one key to make it worth while to write them in ! In short, the rules sanctioned by the greatest tone poets, and whichare derived from the inmost being of music, are despised; the objectswhich music should strive for are pushed to one side, and instead of abeautiful symmetry we have immoderation. 156 FELIX MENDELSSOHN-RARTHOLDY 157 While for students of art literature there arc examples of all that hasbeen said near at hand, many will call this utterance a Capuchins ser-mon and will answer that standing- still is stepping backward and thatmusic must progress with the rest of the world. I ask, in reply, if Wagner and Brahms, both of whom were consideredprogressive, were ever guilty of such extravagances ? Just as the laws ofnature are eternal, so also are the laws of art; but the musician mustfind them within his soul, while the artist in form finds originals for histypes in objective nature. One can learn from nature that the palm does. ROOM IN MENDELSSOHNS HOUSE IN LURGENSTEINS GARDEN IN a water-color by Mendelssohn in the possession of Geheimraths Wach. not bear acacia leaves, and that the lion does not have five paws; butwhen the musician does not feel within himself how the leading toneshould be resolved and which connections of chords are impossible, thenhe is beyond help because neither art nor nature has originals for him. If now the young generation often, and perhaps preferably, receive theirideas from modern art and are impressed by its apparent splendor becausethe art of applying instruments has made such progress in the last half-cen-tury that every one can arrange his instruments in fine style, it is only tooeas^ to understand why little taste is left for the fine lines of beauty inMendelssohns music. Why, then, have the works of Mendelssohn become in some degreeforeign to the present ? Because, when Mendelssohn appeared with hisfirst important
Size: 1775px × 1408px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidmode, booksubjectmusicians
