Gillparzer’s tribute to Beethoven

…He who lies here was possessed. Seeking one goal, caring only for one result, suffering and sacrificing for one purpose, those did this man go through life…

If there are some of us who can still feel a sense of total dedication in these fractured times, let us meet at his grave. Has it not always been the task of the poets and heroes, the bards and the divinely enlightened, to raise up poor and confused men, so that they may be mindful both of their origin and their destiny?

– From a speech by Grillparzer on the occasion of the unveiling of a monument to Beethoven, autumn, 1827.

Cited in: Marek, George (1969) Beethoven: Biography of a Genius. London: William Kimber, p.1.

Posted

in

by

Greg

Tags:

Featured Content

The need for books
We wouldn’t need books quite so much if everyone around us understood us well. But they don’t. Even those who love us get us wrong. They tell us who we are but miss things out. They claim to know what we need, but forget to ask us properly first. They can’t understand what we feel […]
Many an Orpheus and Arions make up a Bach
Johann Matthias Gesner was a colleague of Johann Sebastian Bach at St. Thomas’ School, Leipzig. He later worked on a commentary of the Roman author Quintilian (c. 35-100 A. D.). He included a comparison of Bach with the Classical lyre player: All these (outstanding achievements) … you would reckon trivial could you rise from the dead and […]
Quasi Dance II
Title: Quasi Dance II Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: Cello and piano Product medium: PDF score and part SAMPLE:
Habit is stronger than willpower or inspiration
In writing, habit seems to be a stronger force than either willpower or inspiration. Consequently there must be some little quality of fierceness until the habit pattern of a certain number of words is established. There is no possibility, in me at least, of saying, “I’ll do it if I feel like it.” One never […]
The two faces of art
“Every great work of art has two faces, one toward its own time and one toward the future, toward eternity.” – Daniel Barenboim, pianist and conductor Cited at: QuotationsBook  
What an artist can do for another
The best and only thing that one artist can do for another is to serve as an example and an inspiration. – Steven Pressfield S. Pressfield, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles, New York, Black Irish Entertainment, 2002, p.18
Discovery
“Discovery is seeing what everybody else has seen, and thinking what nobody else has thought.” Albert Szent-Györgyi , American bio-chemist.
Du bist die Ruh (You are my Rest) (Schubert)
Title: Du bist die Ruh (You are my Rest) (Op. 59, No. 3) Composer: Franz Schubert Arranger: Greg Smith Instrumentation: Trombone and piano Product medium: PDF score and part Sample:
Anxiety
“Anxiety is the handmaiden of creativity”. — Chuck Jones, animator Goleman, D., Kaufman, P., & Ray, M. (1993) The Creative Spirit. New York: Plume.
Recordings