That AHA! Moment

How does something that seems complex become simple?

How do you clear the obscure clouds to get to that moment of sunlight?

Those aha moments are the way we humans are transported into a deeper understanding. These are the times of clarity when something distilled becomes even more beautiful. I had two of those moments recently and my joy was multiplied to the point that I was inspired to write again about Beethoven, the artist who keeps on giving over lifetimes, over generations, over centuries. And to also understand something difficult from the genius T.S. Eliot.

Last week, the radio was on and I was listening to “Performance Today.” My attention was piqued by the host’s teaser at the top of the hour, talking about a young 19 year old composer who wrote a piece of music about that famous opening line from T.S. Eliot’s “The Wasteland”; “April is the cruelest month”. As serendipity would have it, I had just finished reading that poem for the first time a few days prior. My book group had chosen this poem for our monthly discussion, and I was finding it obscure and difficult. That a young woman was so moved by this poem was intriguing to me. What did she know that I did not know?

I was waiting to hear this new composition, when another performance piece was played: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4. But this was not the symphony I expected; it was an entirely new experience. Two years ago, in the waning days of the pandemic, the illustrious Yo-Yo Ma, his lifelong friend and concert pianist Emanuel Ax, teamed up with the brilliant violinist Leonidas Kavakos to deliver to the world a new way to experience Beethoven. They have been on a musical journey with Beethoven, presenting in concert and in recordings all the Beethoven symphonies, with only three instruments. What?! What would that even sound like? And why? These questions are answered here, and this initiative is enthusiastically described by the musicians on Yo-Yo Ma’s youtube channel.

The AHA! moment for me was when Ax explains how Beethoven’s symphonies were first heard just like this, small orchestrations for a chamber size room. It might be several years down the road before arrangements for a full orchestra were made. What?!? This is how the genius and magic of Beethoven were first fully experienced. Small. Simplified.  And the political implications are inherent. This is music for everyone. As Ma calls it, “a garage band” experience. Pow! There is the Beethoven we know and love, being able to create magic in small ways, as well as grand experiences.

Here is a recording of the intensely modern, garage band version of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4. I’ve listened to it over and over. The modernity of the first section is striking. And now I’ll be listening to all the other symphonies released so far.

And as I mentioned before, this same broadcast of “Performance Today” on April 2, 2024 featured the 19 year old young composer, Yurui “Rain” Hou and her composition April is the Cruelest Month.

To hear this performance and a brief interview, you’ll need to scroll down to the 1: 50 minute point of this episode of “Performance Today”. It is lovely and evocative of our April here in New Mexico. Snow on petals. Dappled sun, rippling shadows in high winds. And throw in this year a touch of eclipse for your impressionistic few moments of zen.

And what of this poem, The Wasteland? How did I get from the cloud of unknowing to clarity? It was with the help of Sir Alec Guinness! . In Obi-Wan-Kenobi-like magic his interpretation opened up the poem like nothing else. And again, it reminds me, poetry is best understood when READ OUT LOUD. Such a simple solution. Here is the lovely beginning of the poem. And perhaps the most accessible section.

The Waste Land

By T. S. Eliot    

                    I. The Burial of the Dead

April is the cruellest month, breeding

Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing

Memory and desire, stirring

Dull roots with spring rain.

Winter kept us warm, covering

Earth in forgetful snow, feeding

A little life with dried tubers.

And here is the incredible interpretation, courtesy of Sir Alec Guinness.

It is a delight to be back at the keyboard again. To all I wish you creative days, restful nights, and a beautiful Spring.

And thank you for reading The Tone Poet.