Lives of the Great Composers
From
Bob Harper@21:1/5 to
All on Sun Dec 11 17:04:03 2022
NO, not Harold Schonberg's book but this poem by Dana Gioia. HOpe you
all enjoy it.
Lives of the Great Composers
by Dana Gioia
Herr Bruckner often wandered into church
to join the mourners at a funeral.
The relatives of Berlioz were horrified.
“Such harmony,” quoth Shakespeare, “is in
immortal souls …. We cannot hear it.” But
the radio is playing, and outside
rain splashes to the pavement. Now and then
the broadcast fails. On nights like these Schumann
would watch the lightning streak his windowpanes.
Outside the rain is falling on the pavement.
A scrap of paper tumbles down the street.
On rainy evenings Schumann jotted down
his melodies on windowpanes. “Such harmony!
We cannot hear it.” The radio goes off and on.
At the rehearsal Gustav Holst exclaimed,
“I’m sick of music, especially my own!”
The relatives of Berlioz were horrified.
Haydn’s wife used music to line pastry pans.
On rainy nights the ghost of Mendelssohn
brought melodies for Schumann to compose.
“Such harmony is in immortal souls ….
We cannot hear it.” One could suppose
Herr Bruckner would have smiled. At Tegernsee
the peasants stood to hear young Paganini play,
but here there’s lightning, and the thunder rolls.
The radio goes off and on. The rain
falls to the pavement like applause.
A scrap of paper tumbles down the street.
On rainy evenings Schumann would look out
and scribble on the windows of his cell.
“Such harmony.” Cars splash out in the rain.
The relatives of Berlioz were horrified
to see the horses break from the cortege
and gallop with his casket to the grave.
Liszt wept to hear old Paganini play.
Haydn’s wife used music to line pastry pans.
“Lives of the Great Composers” by Dana Gioia from 99 Poems. © Graywolf Press, 2016.
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)