Italian philosopher Umberto Eco is recorded as saying “I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth”.
Listeners to Shostakovich are often on the look-out for hidden messages in his music: some sign of political dissent, or a parody of the Georgian dictator encrypted in special note combinations or musical phrases.
Shostakovich was always quiet about what his music "meant." If there’s a story or meaning behind the First Cello Concerto, Shostakovich never wrote one down. He’s certainly not around anymore to tell it.
Ultimately, you need to be careful you don’t get distracted from the music, which is so powerful it doesn’t really need a story behind it. It stands up perfectly well on its own.
Similarly, Eduard Elgar’s “Enigma Variations”. Although descriptive of fourteen people in Elgar’s life, it has bemused and challenged musical scholars, both professional and amateur, for decades as they try to unlock the secret enigma contained in his work, but so far, no convincing solution has been found.
Clearly, the best approach to both is just enjoy them for their wonderful music. You can check out both pieces of music and read notes about each by clicking on the links below, as well as the other shorter works that occupied our attention during the month: works by Smetana, de Falla, Schubert, Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn, which contain no enigma at all.
Session Notes 11th October
Schumann - Overture to Hermann and Dorothea
Shostakovich - Romance from "The Gadly"
Shostakovich - Cello Concerto No.1
Haydn - Symphony No.104
Session Notes 25th October
Rossini - Overture to William Tell
Elgar - Enigma Variations
de Falla - Ritual Fire Dance
Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 17
Bill Squire.
Listeners to Shostakovich are often on the look-out for hidden messages in his music: some sign of political dissent, or a parody of the Georgian dictator encrypted in special note combinations or musical phrases.
Shostakovich was always quiet about what his music "meant." If there’s a story or meaning behind the First Cello Concerto, Shostakovich never wrote one down. He’s certainly not around anymore to tell it.
Ultimately, you need to be careful you don’t get distracted from the music, which is so powerful it doesn’t really need a story behind it. It stands up perfectly well on its own.
Similarly, Eduard Elgar’s “Enigma Variations”. Although descriptive of fourteen people in Elgar’s life, it has bemused and challenged musical scholars, both professional and amateur, for decades as they try to unlock the secret enigma contained in his work, but so far, no convincing solution has been found.
Clearly, the best approach to both is just enjoy them for their wonderful music. You can check out both pieces of music and read notes about each by clicking on the links below, as well as the other shorter works that occupied our attention during the month: works by Smetana, de Falla, Schubert, Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn, which contain no enigma at all.
Session Notes 11th October
Schumann - Overture to Hermann and Dorothea
Shostakovich - Romance from "The Gadly"
Shostakovich - Cello Concerto No.1
Haydn - Symphony No.104
Session Notes 25th October
Rossini - Overture to William Tell
Elgar - Enigma Variations
de Falla - Ritual Fire Dance
Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 17
Bill Squire.
