Music, and Philosophy.

The Pocket University entry for Sept 14th is a letter from Nietzsche to a friend, written November 9th, 1868, in which Nietzsche talks about his introduction to Wagner (of Nibelung fame).  The other entries for the week include several poems by Thomas Campion, three letters from the composer Mendelssohn, and a couple of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Nietzsche was a great fan of Wagner until quite near the end of his life.  He had introduced an acquaintance to Wagner's music, and it turns out this acquaintance was also friends with Wagner's sister.  A series of fortuitous events resulted in Nietzsche's name being mentioned to Wagner, who agreed to meet Nietzsche.

Nietzsche was very excited to make Wagner's acquaintance.  Nietzsche writes of several amusing occurrences leading up to his introduction to Wagner, including a run-in with a Tailor, and adventures in bad weather, none of which seem to diffuse Nietzsche's enthusiasm.

Much has been written of the relationship between Wagner and Nietzsche, and in the end Nietzsche turned away from Wagner, writing "Nietzsche contra Wagner" in 1889.  But this is the beginning of their relationship. It seems they got along quite well at the introduction.

The theme of the week is music and philosophy, so I felt I had to read a little more than one day's reading.

The selection for Sept 11th is 3 letters by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy

The first selection is a letter to Concertmeister Ferdinand David, on His Aims as a Composer, dated July 30, 1838, in which Mendelssohn discusses whether he can write music with the aim that the music be popular.  He says basically he writes the best music he can, and whether it turns out to be popular is more or less not his concern.

The second Mendelssohn letter is to Professor Naumann, on the Musical Education of his son, dated Sept 19 1839, in which Mendelssohn expresses he is not a good music teacher, and encourages Naumann to keep his teenage son at home rather than sending him away.

The third Mendelssohn letter is to Herr Marc Andre Souchay on the Meaning of Music, dated October 15, 1842, in which Mendelssohn says he can't put what he sees as the "meaning of music" into words because the music speaks for itself, and words are too ambiguous in meaning to convey the meaning of music.

So from these letters we get just a glimpse of Mendelssohn the man, as opposed to Mendelssohn the composer.  Someone whose work isn't about other people's opinions, someone who expressed the importance of family ties and home life, and someone who declined to bound the meaning of music with words because, for Mendelssohn, words cannot express what music expresses.

If I get a chance I'll hit the used book store and see if I can find some Mendelssohn and some Wagner in the CD selection.

Comments are welcome, though moderated.