"Ability to Interpret Emotions Reason for Beethoven's Immortality"--Spalding

The following article on Beethoven was written by W. R. Spalding '87, Professor of Music in the University, for the current issue of the Harvard Alumni Bulletin, and is in part reprinted here with permission.

In these days of confused and perplexing standards, social, moral, and artistic, the question is often asked and demands an answer--"What does he stand for?" Is the work of So and So on a fictitious and ephemeral basis, or has it a message of permanent vitality and worth? This question, however, can seldom be answered in the lifetime of the worker and still less frequently in that of the creative artist, it being an attribute of genius to be ahead of its own day and generation. Assuming that the chief works of Beethoven have stood the test of time, have retained their power to quicken and to exalt, and waiving the aspersions of those extremists who consider Beethoven "vieux jeu"--his achievements soon to be engulfed in the rising tide of "modernity"--let us indulge in, some reflections as to the reasons for the unshaken hold in public esteem which Beethoven as a character enjoys and for the reverent admiration his works still compel. We may frankly acknowledge that it is a puzzling matter to state in cold language why a work of art is great, and we are baffled to trace the connection between the personality and environment of an artist and his message. These problems are often more acute in music by reason of the indefiniteness and mystery of the constituent factors of the art in sound and rhythm; and at the same time more easy of solution because of the direct appeal which music makes to our entire being, physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual.

Following this line of suggestion, it is not difficult to understand the secret of Beethoven's appeal for an acquaintance with his works will corroborate the statement that Beethoven is first, an emotional composer, second, an artist of great dramatic power; and third, a man of fascinating humor, whose works have their being to intensify those never changing qualities in man--his basic emotions, love, joy, sorrow, his craving for the dramatic, for something to happen, and his instinct for what is humorous--for the incongruities and variety in the spectacle of life. . . .

To put sounds and rhythms together requires intellect of the highest order--the difficulty is far more than in dealing with words and paints--and, granting for the moment Beethoven's emotional power his genius is nowhere more evident than in the structure of his symphonies, quartets, and pianoforte works. In such a masterpiece, e.g., as the Fifth Symphony (that in C minor), everything is just right; when led up to a climax, we expect something, we get it. Then how marvelously is our excitement assuaged without being allowed to die out entirely! The valleys, tablelands, and mountain peaks have the same convincing symmetry as nature herself. Edward Elgar, the eminent English composer, well says, "A modern composer, while listening to the C Minor Symphony or studying its design, feels as humble as a travelling tinker standing before that marvel of engineering skill, the bridge over the Firth of Forth."

Love of Nature a Source

A chief source, indeed of Beethoven's inspiration was his passionate and persistent love of nature. While taking his daily walks, his friends spoke of him as being in his "raptus." He says himself, "No one can love nature more than I". His works, in consequence, have the elemental force and variety of natural phenomena. With what dramatic power does he at times take us in his arms, hurl us down, and stamp upon us--"Listen to me, base mortal, or perish." And what a saving grace is his gift of humor, just as important in art as in daily life. Beethoven never tears a passion to tatters, never protests too much, can be serious and truly impressive without becoming solemn or pontificial. Before Beethoven, music had been practically limited to the expression of joy and sorrow in a broad sense of these terms. With his inborn whimsicality and with his philosophy, akin to that of Shakspere, that nothing is more deadly than to take ourselves too seriously, Beethoven developed in music the spirit of fantastic humor. . . .

This world-wide celebration of the validity and significance of Beethoven's work seems of particular importance just at this period of our civilization, especially as represented by America. Everyone should read and ponder Beethoven's life and career. His courage, sincerity, generosity, and unswerving devotion to his ideals of art and life cannot fail to supply that inspiration and tonic force which our industrial and financial age sadly lacks. Let us, therefore, enlarge somewhat upon the permanent quality in Beethoven's music, its emotional and spiritual power. So much emphasis today is laid upon science, book learning, research, behaviorism, and pedagogy, that the emotions are often entirely ignored. "But science," says Bertrand Russell, "is no substitute for virtue. The heart is quite as important as the head; in fact, in the last analysis the head is of relatively slight importance." The inscription of Beethoven's mass was "From the heart it has come, to the heart it shall go." For knowledge is constantly changing, while our emotions, our souls, and spirits remain the same, well nourished or starved, as the case may be. . .

To sum up the foregoing considerations in Beethoven's works is found a perfect balance between content and mode of expression, between spirit and body; and the message always comes from a human being capable of every emotion and aspiration. . . . .

As long as we have emotions--and any other conception of life is unthinkable--a craving for the dramatic and for the humorous; so long shall we feel for Beethoven that love and reverence which open before us vistas of a realm where the soul and the imagination have endless scope.