printBeethoven, Mozart, Bach, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Brahms, Bruckner, Debussy, César Franck, Dvorák, Tchaikovsky (Russian), Elgar, Fauré and more—they embody The Best of The West, not the Woke perverts, the Covid goons; rap, reparations, and the critical race bile ~ilana
THE TRUE MEANING OF THE WEST is not our ugly, grubby, tit-for-tat politics and even ghastlier culture, in which our kids, liberal and conservative, are allowed to wallow.
It’s not the Woke, postmodern perverts degrading the language, literature, music, art and sciences.
It’s not the COVID cartel and its army of goons, medical and bureaucratic, devoid of intelligence and bereft of proficiency in anything but the use of coercion.
The meaning of the West is not to be found in the staged acts of ugly exhibitionists and filthy pornographers who bedeck our cultural and sporting events, the likes of loud, lousy Lizzo, a mountain of meritless flesh, and Sam Smiths Sicko—degenerates who are all engaged in publicly approved indecent exposure and tuneless yelping, that not even the Auto-tune magic software recording technology can correct.
These are cultural interlopers, frauds and freaks.
Beethoven is The West. Beethoven is an example of the best of the West.
“Ode to Joy,” inspired by Friedrich Schiller’s eponymous poem, is but the soundbite in Symphony No. 9. Sublime as it is, “Ode to Joy” is the popular tune in a more magnificent whole.
One should not seek out exclusively the Ode of the Finale—the fourth movement—without assimilating the typically ballsy build-up by Beethoven throughout the preceding Allegro (first movement), scherzo (second movement) and Adagio (third).
Music is Man. Like nobody else, Beethoven instantiates this truth in all his Symphonies. (Listen to No. 5 here, conducted by the great Herbert von Karajan, and tell me this is not so.)
To share with you, I have a fine performance of “Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 ‘Choral’ (1824).” It is that of The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Barenboim. Barenboim’s intensity during the performance and the perfection he wrung so effortlessly from these young musicians—beautiful in face and form, hailing from far flung countries across the Middle East and North Africa—led me to suspect this setting was more than just a celebrity conductor—one of the greatest, for sure—parachuted in for a night.
Indeed, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra is a product of the vision of Maestro Daniel Barenboim and the less talented more verbose Edward Said, a Palestinian intellectual. The impetus of the collaboration, I imagine, was to foster peace through music. Done.
Not Allah or Jehovah ever inspired this kind of transcendence. Christianity did. This is The West, not the Woke perverts, the Covid goons; rap, reparations, and the critical race bile
It’s men like Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Brahms, Bruckner, Debussy, César Franck, Dvorák, Tchaikovsky (Russian), Elgar, Fauré and more—they embody The West. They and these young performers furthering the work of the Lord.
Sad anecdote: Beethoven had composed the sublime work utterly deaf.
According to one account of the event, the audience applauded thunderously at the conclusion of the performance, but Beethoven, unable to hear the response, continued to face the chorus and orchestra; a singer finally turned him around so that he could see evidence of the affirmation that resounded throughout the hall.
November is “Beethoven Awareness Month”
Simply Oustanding Ilana. Bravo!
There’s the divine Bach and then there’s everybody else.
Thank you Ilana, a beautiful exquisity written tribute, ode to one of the greatest musicians, Beethoven whose music gives joy, inspiration, solace to faithful listeners, he was a giant among the chosen. And I could’t agree with you more about the disgust, perversion, nakedness of those persons who wish the audience to think theirs’ is music or what is dished up to us as “music” ann-wendy
Spot on and well put.
Thanks for putting it so eloquently.
“Not Allah or Jehovah ever inspired this kind of transcendence. Christianity did.” Ilana, obviously I can’t speak for all of Christianity, but I’d like to say, if I may, that some Christian’s, not all, believe that Jesus was/is Jehovah (I do). And I think you’re aware of that. So, I’m a bit puzzled by the words I quoted from the piece on Beethoven. If it’s agreed Christianity is based on Jesus, and Jesus was/is Jehovah, then Jehovah, too, inspired that music, besides Christianity. But wait, I’m thinking about this. It seems I recall reading that you are Jewish, and perhaps I read where you wrote that yourself about yourself. If I’m mistaken, I apologize. If I’m not mistaken, then I understand the statement then, that Jehovah didn’t inspire that music, seeing that that is said from a Jewish view (which doesn’t believe Jesus was the Messiah). I see. But you know too, if Christian’s say Christianity inspired something, that’s saying Jehovah inspired it (those that believe Jesus was/is Jehovah). By the way, this might be interesting to note, I think “Christianity” began one year after the resurrection upon the conversion of Saul. I think it was strictly Judaism up until him (Paul) in Acts 9. Even a Rabbi knew this, though most Christians don’t. The Rabbi told this to a Christian writer of the 20th century, C.R. Stam.