Happy Birthday Doc.

The Shaw studio would have been celebrating your 82nd birthday today -

Perhaps all of us “Doc-lings” hiding in the MU 212 studio with a surprise for you after studio class

Balloons, cake, snacks, flowers, an orchid plant, and the usual tradition of the signed birthday card -

And, of course, the birthday song that starts with an ascending dominant seventh cue,

in classic Doc fashion.

You would always smile and cheer on when we surprised you on this day,

But you probably knew from the get-go that we had the surprise planned all along.

Two and a half years since your passing,

I have kept my emotions mostly to myself throughout,

a way to avoid the truth that I can never speak, send you multiple emails, or call you again.

The feeling of lost was real, especially being the youngest of your doctoral cohort.

Doc, I surely was not the easiest student you had expected -

We saw eye to eye on a number of things: our love for Schumann and Scriabin (then Liszt, which you successfully converted me after), complaints about the insane cold temperatures of MA 405, and agreeing that the gender neutral private bathroom next to your studio was the best one in the whole school, and others I shall refrain from elaborating here…

We also, on occasion, had disagreements, as I was a little rebel among my studio peers;

You would often question my choices and I will then counter with my thoughts and opinions, sometimes finishing off with smiles of affirmation or me balling with tears - all which have shaped me to who I am as a person and musician today.

Nonetheless, all you hoped for was to see me finish the degree from day one I entered your studio,

and I finally did it.

https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/handle/2022/27009

You were a tour de force since the day I proudly called you my teacher, my mentor,

and although you are no longer here with us, I believe your spirit and tenacity lives on -

A glass of wine with an ice-cube,

Here’s to you, Doc!

With love,

J

E. T. A. Hoffmann on Beethoven's Instrumental Music

“Beethoven’s music sets in motion the machinery of awe, of fear, of terror, of pain, and awakens that infinite yearning which is the essence of romanticism.”

— E. T. A. Hoffmann

The romantic writer and composer E. T. A. Hoffmann dedicates a full entry on Beethoven and the latter’s instrumental compositions in the first part of Kriesleriana, a bi-partite cycle of musical writings that formed part of Hoffmann’s first published book, Fantasiestücke in Callot’s Manier (1814-15). This is not the first time Hoffmann writes about his respect for Beethoven’s art, as the former had published an extensive review on Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony in the time’s most respected journal for music, the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung (AMZ) in 1810.

The way Hoffmann presents this essay in Kriesleriana is quite unlike the previous entries of the cycle. The structure is clear and its organization combines well-formed content, examples, and commentary, all these unusual characteristics in Hoffmann’s delivery. This essay exhibits a clean and clear writing style, where a reader like myself can readily digest the writer’s content with ease.

I find this essay by Hofmann a powerful piece. It not only goes into detail about worshipping Beethoven’s instrumental music and his mastery in the music craftsmanship of the 5th Symphony, Hofmann’s essay paints the canvas of Romanticism in art. The “expression of the infinite” as Hofmann called, is where “music discloses to man an unknown kingdom, a world having nothing in common with the external sensual world which surround him and in which he leaves behind him all definite feelings in order to abandon himself to an inexpressible longing.”

Having read this piece a number of times, every time I find myself immersed in Hofmann and Beethoven’s spirit in creating life into art. To bring life to music, poetic expression and intellectual understanding of music go hand-in-hand. Without one or the other, what more is left to the essence of music that breaks out into sound, melody, and a wide array of emotions?

The Bridge to Modernism

Portrait of Liszt during the late years.

Among the many things that are representative of Liszt, such as the 19th century piano virtuoso and concert artist, the concept of thematic transformation and father of the symphonic poem, the so-called “half gypsy, half priest,” the fascination on Liszt and his output tops off as the ideal Romantic figure.

However, Liszt was often in controversy during his life, something he still face today. Like two sides of a coin, there are strong followers and also ones who dislike of Liszt’s music. I myself never fancied much of Liszt at the beginning, mostly because of the over-dramatization, shallowness, and superfluous gestures often portrayed in music and recordings, and my lack of piano ‘chops’ to perform the work confidently. These negative personal attributions to Liszt gradually went away as I began to search deeper into Liszt’s life and music.

With many studies done and music performed from Liszt’s early and middle periods, I divert my area of focus to the late period (1869-1886) where an abundance of content and music still exists but less studied and performed. The late years in my opinion, are most revolutionary in 19th century music development - Liszt made radical decisions in form, texture, harmony, and timbre - seemingly a foreshadowing of the future. The music also reflects the reality and vulnerability present in humanity, qualities that the earlier works lacked from.

“The painter should paint not only what he has in front of him, but also what he sees inside himself.” - Caspar David Friedrich

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The music of the aging Liszt reflected his personal feelings, struggles, and integrity - a pour out of creativity. The reception of his late music faced great criticism, even his “friend”/son-in-law Richard Wagner called Liszt’s music “budding insanity.” The mention of R.W. is important to study F.L. and will require a separate entry to further explore their fated/ill-fated relationship.

Now, first back to Liszt. It is true that so much has been studied on Liszt and the question arises why do we need more of Liszt. Therefore, I approached the subject with a mindset to explore and evaluate by using these prominent questions as basis: ‘What is the value of Liszt’s late piano music?’, and ‘Are they worth studying?’ With time and research spent, I found a growing interest to develop a study based on the performance and pedagogical aspect of Liszt’s late piano music. This study aims to provide the following:

1. Address the style characteristics and composition techniques used in the late music;

2. Provide a performance and pedagogy guide catalogue of the late piano works organized by category and level of study;

3. Promote study and program of the late piano music into performance;

4. Foster the value of Liszt’s late life and music in music learning and performance.

I am excited in this interesting project and looking forward to see progress soon!