Pfitzner v. Berg, or Inspiration v.

Analysis
Author(s): Mosco Carner
Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 118, No. 1611 (May, 1977), pp. 379-380
Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.
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Pfitzner
v. Berg
or Inspirationv. Analysis
Mosco Carner
Pfitzner was a quirky, quarrelsome little man, Pfitznerpublishedhis essay in 1920, and coming as
always highly critical of the music of his fellow it did from the composer of Palestrina it created
composers. In his public dicta about themhe never a considerable sensation in German artistic and
pulled his punches. Moreover, he was an ardent intellectual circles; he was widely accused of a
German nationalist and reactionary--heliked to deliberatedistortionof the pictureof contemporary
describe himselfas the 'last German romantic'- German music and of airing hidebound reactionary
who detestedall modernismand internationalism in views.
German art, a phenomenonwhich he attributedto The tenor of his essay is the all-pervasiverole
the influenceof theJews,althoughhe countedmany played by inspiration in composition, without
friendsamong them. Endowed with an eloquent which, Pfitznersays, no great work can come into
and most fluentpen, he leftthreeheftyvolumes of being,and the absence of whichin modernGerman
collected writings,some of them of a highlypole- music he deeply deplores. The German word for
mical character.Thus in 1917 he wrotea long essay, inspiration is Einfall-literally, something falling
'Futuristengefahr', a replyto Busoni's famous book into the mind from,as it were, oulside: it implies
A New Aestheticsof Music, in which he raised the that the artist is, at the moment of inspiration,
alarm about the new tendenciesthat he considered completely passive, and feels to be merely the
detrimentalto German music. His most important receptacle for somethingcoming to him suddenly
polemical essay was 'The New Aesthetics of the out of the blue. It is a phenomenonon whichmany
Musical Impotence', which was in the firstplace artistshave commented.In an earlierage inspiration
directedat the influentialcritic,Paul Bekker.As we was attributedto divine influence;that is why in
shall see, it was this essay that induced Berg to medieval paintings it was symbolized by angels.
challengePfitznerin a brilliantarticleof his own. Pfitznerrecallsthisimagein Palestrinawhenin Act 1
Bekkerhad writtena book on Beethovenin which angels appear and singthemass whichthecomposer
he spoke at lengthof the 'poetic idea' in which he is just puttingdown on paper. Inspirationmay often
saw the source of inspirationfor virtuallyeveryone have slumbered or simmered in the artist's un-
of the composer's works. What roused Pfitznerwas conscious and perhaps needed a special stimulusto
Bekker's statementthat Beethoven was in the first leap fromthe depths into the conscious part of the
place a thinkerand poet and only in the second mind. There is evidence that, for example, Bach,
place a musician. If Bekker, more correctly,had Handel, Mozart, Schubert,Schumann and Strauss
said that Beethovenwas a thinkerand poet in terms were subject to this kind of inspiration, which
of music, I take it thatall would have been well. As partlyexplains the speed withwhichtheycomposed
it stood, Pfitznersaw in Bekker's statementan and the astonishinglylarge numberof works they
imposition of extra-musicalvalues on Beethoven's left. In Pfitzner'sPalestrina there are at least two
music which in his eyes was anathema. Bekker's themes which bear the hallmark of spontaneous
second and perhaps cardinal sin was, according to inspiration.One is the D minor theme associated
Pfitzner,his failureto perceivethe fundamentalrole withPalestrinaas the humbleand devout servantof
played by inspiration in the composer's creative God. Throughout the opera it recurs in the same
processes. Bekker, whose book contains not a shape and opens and concludes the work. The
single music example, hardly ever considers a second Einfallis the themesymbolizingthe Council
theme or tune per se but is only interestedin what of Trent. It is a big-boned, tremendous idea of
happens to it by way of elaboration and develop- almost Bruckneriancharacterand has great dignity
ment; that Pfitznerregarded as belonging to the whenit is firstheard in the preludeto Act 2.
intellectualsphere,so having littleconnectionwith In seeing in trueinspirationthe alpha and omega
inspiration.Bekker's thirdsin was to declare that of composition, Pfitznerallots a cardinal role in
the symphonyfromBeethovento Mahler possessed, artisticcreation to the unconscious factor.Here is
nextto its purelymusical values, a sociological one: how he expressesthisthoughtthroughthemouthof
it was gesellschaftsbindend, that is, it had the ability Palestrina,in that marvellousscene of Act 1 when
of bringinga large, heterogeneouscrowd of people the old masters of polyphonyappear to him and
togetherand transforming itintoa community assem- spur him on to compose the mass. Palestrinasays:
bled to share a greatexperience.All thisrepresented 'You livedstronglyin a strongage, an age whichwas
for Pfitznerthe intrusioninto musical aestheticsof deeply embedded in the unconscious-but the light
non-musical standpoints in which he saw the of the conscious, a lightfatalin its dazzle, is hostile
symptoms of decadence in German music. He to artisticcreation'. In this connectionSchoenberg
sometimesuses a strongerword than decadence: he may be cited who said about himselfthat he was a
speaks of Verwesung(putrefaction).Incidentally,in 'Gesch6pf der Eingebung' ('creatureof inspiration')
this essay Pfitznershows himselfto be a veritable and that he always composed instinctively.To
polymathdrawingforhis argumentson philosophy, which may be added a statementby the modern
politics,race theory(he extols Wagner's notorious painter,Fernand Leger,who wrote: 'The creator...
pamphlet on Judaism in music), general aesthetics, is caught between his consciousness and his un-
morals, literature, drama and what have you. consciousness . . . the subjective and objective
379

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interpenetrate in such a way that the creativeevent to Frau Berg after she had read her husband's
remainsalways a partial enigma forthe artist'. article: 'All the quotations fromPfitznerprove that
For Pfitznerthe result of true inspirationis an he [Pfitzner]is right.Music is inexplicable,above all
organicmusical whole whichis not capable of being melodywhichis not A-B-C and X- Y-Z'. (That was
dissectedand analysed. Its qualitycannot be demon- how Berg markedthe sectionsof 'Traumerei' in his
stratedbut only felt.And as a supremeexample of analysis.) Frau Mahler then asks -quoted in an
inspirationhe adduces'Traumerei'fromSchumann's unpublished letter from Berg to Schoenberg, 21
Kinderszenen.Here, he says, inspirationand form July1920: 'Does Alban reallybelieve that anything
coincide. What else, he asks, is to be said about it? can be explained in this way-anything at all?'.
All we can do is to shutout our conscious analytical Frau Mahler of course exaggerates when she
mind and yield to an overwhelmingfeeling of negates the value of technical analysis. Analysis is
raptureat its incomparable beauty. Every attempt needed, not only to rationalize aural impressions
at analysis is futileand to tryto explain it in tech- but also to discover relationshipsand correspond-
nical termsleads nowhere. It is interestingto note ences in the,structureand the formal design of a
thatforall theacutenessof his intellectand powerof piece, to say nothingof its texture.Analysis is a
argument,in his approach to music Pfitznershows sine qua non for a true knowledge of a complex
himselfnon-intellectual,non-analyticaland wholly piece of music,such as is necessaryif one wishes to
emotive. Music for him is stuffnot for the rational summon before the mind's eye its characteristic
mind, but our feelings and sentiments,in other featuresor hear inwardlyits directional progress
words, the instinctiveand irrationalin us. True, he from A to B to C, and so on. In short, without
does attempt an analysis of sorts in 'Traumerei', analysis-that is, without a deliberate intellectual
but he does it so superficially
and so cavalierlyas if effort-therecan be no fulland trueappreciationof
to indicate how insignificanttechnical description the music. Appreciation and aesthetic enjoyment
mustbe. are of course closely linked,but theyare not inter-
Now it was this section of Pfitzner'sessay which changeable: the first belongs to the intellectual
Berg attacked in an elegantly written, satirical spherewhilethesecond is the resultof our emotional
article which appeared in the June number (1920) reaction. A listenermust firstrespond instinctively
of the Musikbldtterdes Anbruch,the house journal and feel,as Pfitznersuggested,the beautyof a given
of the Vienna music publishing firm, Universal piece. If this is his reaction then analysis will
Edition. Pfitznercalled his essay 'The New Aesthe- heightenhis aestheticenjoymentwhen he hears it
tics of the Musical Impotence': Berg reversedthis again. If there is no positive response, then all
and entitledhis own essay 'The Musical Impotence analysiswill be futileforhim.
of Hans Pfitzner's"New Aesthetics" '. He begins The seeminglyinsolubledifficulty in explainingin
by describingPfitzner'swhollyemotional reactionto technical terms why one piece is memorable and
Schumann's 'Traumerei' as 'Schwarmerei'('gushing another not lies to my mind partlyin this: melody,
enthusiasm'), and he rejects his view that the harmony and rhythm,the prime parameters of
quality of its melody cannot be demonstratedbut Westernmusic,interactin manifoldways whichit is
only felt.He then proceeds to a technicalanalysis; impossible to describe in verbal terms. Even if it
all who have read Berg's guides to Schoenberg's were possible, any such descriptionwould fillpages
Gurreliederand the Chamber Symphonyknow how and pages and yet would totallyfail to conjure up
well he does this and what flashes of insight he the integratedimpressionwhich we receivethrough
shows. Berg firstremarkson the central position our ear. For the ear is capable of takingin instantly
'Traumerei'occupies in the set of 13 pieces: it is the what in psychologyis called a Gestalt or configur-
seventh piece and thus divides the set into two ation, thatis, to perceivea structuredunityor whole
groups of six pieces each. He then discusses Schu- which is more than the sum of its parts. This is a
mann's subtle variation technique in spinningout fundamental teaching of. Gestalt psychology. I
the melody and, by demonstratingthat each of its believe that it is in the differenceby which the
cadences ends on a differentchord, disproves whole is biggerthan the sum of its parts that our
Pfitzner's statement that 'Traumerei' lacks har- primedifficulty lies in explainingin technicalterms
monic varietyand interest.He also draws attention why one theme is memorableand another not. To
to its strictfour-partwritingand says thatthe piece tryto discoverby analysis the beautyof an inspira-
could just as well be played by a stringor wind tion is like searchingfor the beauty of a rose by
quartetor sung by a mixed choir. tearing off its petals. In the controversyabout
Admittedly,Berg takes us a good way towards a Einfall and technicalanalysis I thus take Pfitzner's
demonstrationof the inventivequality of 'Trau- side. There is no rational way to explain, as Berg
merei'. But does he succeed in explainingwhy it is seemed to thinktherewas, one of the supremeaims
such a memorable piece? I do not thinkso. There of artistic creation: how to achieve significant
are themes and melodies in classical music with a beauty.
greater wealth of distinguishing features than Based on a Radio 3 talk broadcast on 19 July 1976
Schumann's piece, and yet theydo not strikeus as
memorable.On the otherhand, thereare tuneswith
*
a paucity of distinguishingfeatures-thinkof folk-
songs and the operas of the middle Verdi-which,
once heard, stick in the memory.Can we rationally The Central Music Library (Buckingham Palace Road, London
SW I ) has two bound volumes of MT for almost every year since
ascertain whereinthe differencebetweena memor- 1877, thus allowing one volume to be issued on loan; but for the
able theme and an ordinaryone lies? It is worth years before 1877, and 1880, 1884, 1918, 1932, 1935, 1961 and
1967 only one volume is held, so the city librarian would be grate-
citing,in answer, what Alma Maria Mahler wrote ful for any spare copies.
380

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