Abstract:While the fact that over 600 composers have set Goethe's works to music attests to the musicality of his poetry, opinions on the musicality of the man Goethe have varied greatly. Goethe's childhood mu...While the fact that over 600 composers have set Goethe's works to music attests to the musicality of his poetry, opinions on the musicality of the man Goethe have varied greatly. Goethe's childhood musical training, his efforts with the Singspiel, his lifelong reverence for Mozart, and his opinions on opera and song are discussed. The celebrated misunderstanding with Beethoven is related to Goethe's association with Zelter and Mendelssohn. As a poet, Goethe naturally felt that music should be the handmaiden of the text, and this hindered his appreciation of instrumental music and the budding nineteenth-century song, with its increasingly complex accompaniment. Given these limitations, music was always an important factor in Goethe's life, an art which he held in the greatest esteem, and a central point on which his entire creative output revolved.Read More
Publication Year: 1972
Publication Date: 1972-03-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 1
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