Chapter 13 Vienna Classicism AD 1791

The impression of Vienna is often that it is more than exquisite, but not deep enough. People often remember its court side: waltz dance, Princess Sissi, and the golden hall. It seems that the characteristics of Vienna are elegant princes and princesses dancing in the palace.This side is real and beautiful, but this side does not represent all of Vienna. The essence of Viennese heart is sadness and profound art.No other city in the world has bred so many great musicians. These musicians are not all walking in brightly lit dance halls, but scattered in every corner of the city, exploring silently in lonely streets.There are only a few musicians who can perform at the Viennese court, and they are not all well-off. Those who spend their years in poverty are often great people.They live in ordinary corners of the city, and complete their works outside the bright lights. A moment on the stage reflects the long-lasting darkness outside the stage.They push music to the top.

Their explorations have a uniquely Viennese flavor: deep, introspective, complex, with a great emphasis on spiritual inner exploration.The Viennese art is music, the most personal and inner art of all.It is different from extroverted painting, which uses color to convey passion, and it is also different from silent sculpture, which makes everything clearly identifiable. It is also different from mythology and drama, which uses external characters to express external history.Music is spiritual, and what it conveys is the perfection of ideas and deep thinking.Even if music expresses light and shade, images and conflicts, it is an abstract expression that takes place in the spiritual world.This is the temperament of music, and it is also the temperament of Vienna, its literary, psychological, philosophical temperament.This kind of feature is not eye-catching, but it has a deep and lasting imprint, which reaches directly to the heart.

Vienna is a beautiful city.There are musical notes in every crack of the stone. In 1791, the world resounded the Farewell Mass. This year is the year of farewell.In Vienna, Haydn and Mozart say their final goodbyes.In Paris, Louis of Versailles closes the medieval curtain. On December 15, 1790, Haydn set off from Vienna for London.He was invited by a theater manager in London to perform and compose.Before leaving, he went to visit Mozart.Haydn had hoped that Mozart could accompany him, but due to financial reasons, Mozart had to stay in Vienna.Mozart was financially poor and in rather poor health.Haydn stayed with him all day, and the two talked with each other, feeling a little bit reluctant.They can all feel a kind of farewell atmosphere, but they didn't expect it to be a mutual farewell.Haydn was 24 years older than Mozart. He was like a father and a teacher. He loved this child and his genius.

In this year, Vienna continued the last glory of the Habsburg dynasty.In the palace, there are singing and dancing all night, and outside the palace, the atmosphere is emphasized. The palace employs the best musicians in the world and holds the best concerts.The rise of the bourgeois class, rich, leisurely and tasteful, they have a happy disposition, and they like to flock to the concert hall at night to express the satisfaction of their own affluence.Singing and dancing, good food and wine, the prince and princess lived happily together.No one pays attention to the lonely death of a poor genius, and no one can predict how the world will be turned upside down by a storm in another country.

This year, the Habsburg dynasty continued the last glory of the Holy Roman Empire.This thousand-year kingdom established in AD 962 is coming to an end.The Holy Roman Empire claims to inherit the mantle of the Roman Empire and consists of several princely kingdoms in Germany and Austria.Among them, the seven main princes are electors, who together with the pope elect the emperor of the empire.The Holy Roman Empire has always been an important force in Europe during the turbulent millennium. Although it did not become a unified nation-state like Britain and France, nor was it as rich as the vibrant Italian city-states, it was an orthodox dynasty throughout Europe. Power against all.It can affect the marriage of the King of England and interfere with the succession of the King of France.No one expected it to end.The Habsburgs were the last dynasty of the empire, it was the apex and end of the empire.

What ended the Habsburg dynasty was the French Revolution and the ensuing Napoleonic conquests. In 1789, the French Revolution broke out. In 1791, Marie Antoninette, sister of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II and the most beautiful queen of France, fled from Paris, was found at the border, and was then imprisoned. In 1793, Mary went to the guillotine with her husband.The Holy Roman Empire thus became the staunchest opponent of the French Revolution, forming the First Anti-French Coalition together with Britain and Prussia. In 1799, Napoleon successfully launched the Brumaire coup and became the first consul. In 1804, Napoleon was crowned. In 1806, Napoleon defeated the Fourth Anti-French Coalition, captured most of Germany, coerced and lured 16 member states of the Holy Roman Empire to leave the Empire, and joined the Federation he founded. Later, he wrote a letter to force Franz II He abdicated and personally ended this 844-year imperial history.

In 1791, the tragic ending had not yet come. Vienna was still immersed in its apex, enjoying a cheerful artistic atmosphere, and the glory of Habsburg was still in every corner of the city.The Habsburg family, a family that ruled almost all of Europe through marriage, sent out almost every king and queen of every country in Europe at the peak of its prosperity. In the 15th century, Albrecht II resisted the Ottoman Empire in Hungary. Afterwards, Maximilian married the daughter of the Duke of Burgundy and inherited a large area of ​​the Netherlands. His grandson was Charles with the most titles in European history. Fifth, he inherited large tracts of soil in Spain and Italy from his mother, and Burgundy, Germany, and Austria from his father. It was he who funded Magellan's voyage in Spain. Philip II of the Armada, and Marie Theresa, Queen of Austria, who built the magnificent Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna.What a privilege it is, we can still imagine it today.

Still unrivaled today, Schönbrunn Palace is surrounded by flowers on the outskirts of Vienna and includes not only a magnificent imperial palace but also, most famously, extensive gardens.The garden adopts the geometric design of French gardens, the rising slope is carefully designed, the shrubs form a symmetrical and complex pattern, and the trees extending in two directions form a lush tree-lined corridor.The interior of the Schönbrunn Palace is famous for its exquisite luxury, rococo-style decorations, and many portraits of kings and queens.The golden color of the outer wall of the palace echoes the Hofburg Palace, another royal palace in the city center. The tone of the Hofburg Palace is cooler, and the curved buildings are more majestic, bearing in mind the luxury and turbulence of the past.Under the Habsburgs, Vienna was prosperous and active, building one of the most striking and sophisticated cities in Europe.The decline of power is as memorable as the rise of power, and no greatness can escape the doomed god of inevitability.

After 1791, the age of nobility ceased to exist. In addition to expanding the Schönbrunn Palace, Queen Marie Theresa has two things in her life for us to remember. One is to summon the six-year-old prodigy Mozart, and the other is to marry her beautiful daughter Marie to Louis XVI of France.Mozart and little Mary met once in Schönbrunn Palace. According to legend, six-year-old Mozart proposed to seven-year-old Mary.The two children were not destined to spend their lives together, and they never had the chance to see each other after this brief side.In this year, they go to a common death.Mozart died on his sickbed in Vienna, and Mary was about to go to the guillotine in Paris.

In the cold winter of 1790, Haydn said his final farewell to Mozart.Mozart couldn't bear to be separated from him, shed tears, stared at Haydn sadly and said: "This is a farewell, we will never meet again." This is not the first time Mozart foresaw death, but it is the most sad one. Vienna at the end of the 18th century witnessed the pinnacle of classical music. The classical music we usually talk about contains too much. It seems that everything before popular music can be called classical music, but in fact, the narrow sense of classical music is not long, it only includes a short half century, which belongs to the half century of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. century.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, music, like many other arts, disappeared for many years.Church chants survived, instrumental music all but disappeared.The Ambrose chant is followed by the Gregorian chant, named after the famous Pope Gregory I.Church music is the most touching, because it is not only a decoration, but also a confession from the heart.From the chants develops the cantatas and fugues, holy choruses, polyphonic, wafting into heaven.At this time, vocal music has been developed to the maximum extent, and the art of harmony has been developed from vocal music.The first thing I tried was the effect of resonance in the church, the singing of one voice, the insertion of the second voice, the third voice, and finally the harmony of several melodies, which cooperate with each other.Such an attempt is called organon, and in the later stage, it is polyphony.In polyphonic music, two, three or even more melodic lines are harmoniously intertwined through processing.This art of harmony later became the core difference between Eastern and Western music. In the early days of the development of chants, instrumental music was still lacking.The Crusades were a great collision of Eastern and Western cultures. The introduction of some oriental musical instruments opened the eyes of Europeans. At this time, the music came to a fork.The Arab Rebek developed into Rebek, and later became the ancestor of the violin.Nordic harps and reed pipes began to join the music.Notation began to develop during this period.Most importantly, during the Renaissance, the pipe organ in the church was developed to perfection.This not only made the church music itself extremely shocking, but also laid the foundation for the later keyboard music.Gabesson's exploration of this instrument made fugue music possible. In the 17th century, the age of maturity came.Italy remained a source of creativity, with Monteverdi inventing the art of opera, and Amati and Stradivari making violins to perfection.At this time, the choral art has developed very complicated, beautiful but complicated, echoing the Baroque in art, also known as the Baroque, with gorgeous decoration, multiple melodies, and rich details, and the violin began to dominate.Composers finally entered history in a personal way, Handel's oratorios are very touching, Vivaldi is the most outstanding violinist, he is very popular, and his music has a unique warm charm. Then, music ushered in the first peak: Sebastian Bach.Bach was born in a musical family of cabaret artists. His father, grandfather and many uncles were all musicians. His family influenced the music taste of an era.Sebastian is an all-round musician. He sang in the choir since he was a child, and made a living as a violinist and organist when he was 18 years old.His music did not receive much recognition during his lifetime, and he lived a peaceful, even mediocre life.However, his works were rediscovered more than a hundred years after his death.Bach's music lies in rigor, he brought the rationality of music into full play, his fugues are complete and smooth, each part can be deduced logically, and the final effect is natural.Fugue is a kind of polyphonic music. It is based on a theme melody. It uses different tonality, different entry timing, different rhythms and sequences to change the theme, and then synthesizes the same piece of music. narratives on the same subject.Bach's music is rigorous but unconventional, complex but smooth and simple.Bach invented the twelve equal temperament, which greatly developed the subsequent keyboard music.It wasn't until the 19th century that Mendelssohn discovered Bach, and he republished the buried manuscript of this genius, letting the world know about this great figure who was too profound and forgotten.The world fell in love with him and regarded him as one of the masters.Deutsche music began to take Bach as its pride.The more modern it is, the more popular Bach's works are. All of these are preludes before the arrival of classicism. The 18th century entered the era of classical music. Music has passed from Bach to Haydn, and has almost found its most perfect form and connotation.Haydn, the pride of Vienna, created a new musical form, which echoed a century of rationality in the 18th century.This form is a symphony.In the era of Haydn's life, instrumental music was quite complete, and the combination of violin and wind music had also begun to take shape.Band and café concerts became popular as something new, and composers started writing music for bands.The keynote music was restored again, and the method of harmony was introduced to the musical instruments, each of which played a completely different content, and finally integrated into a whole with harmony, just like a dialogue. The symphony was formally formed in the hands of Haydn, and it followed the perfect structure of geometric figures.We all know the symphony, but probably didn't know it was so regular.It consists of four movements, usually Allegro-Adagio-Mini Allegro-Presto, respectively expressing solemnity, lyricism, dance and joy, with alternating speed and slow structure.Some people use the body as a metaphor for these four parts: the first movement belongs to the brain, which is full of thoughts and wisdom; Belonging to the whole body, to climax in stormy swiftness.Haydn was the founder of the symphony, and he fixed this form of music, which has since become the basic principle until the 20th century.Haydn's simple and catchy melodies, sweet themes and rich changes made him very popular in Vienna at that time. The emergence of the symphony marks the beginning of the period of classicism.It is the perfect embodiment of the entire age of reason: proportion, harmony, majesty, harmony, architectural grandeur, and balance.This is a geometric beauty, the harmony of notes and notes conforms to geometric proportions, and the structure of movements and movements is also full of geometric coordination.Classicism was once popular in Europe after the discovery of ancient Greek and Roman ruins. At the end of the 18th century, classicism can be seen in almost all kinds of art, including architecture, painting, novels and dramas.To this day, walking on the streets of Vienna, you can still fully appreciate the essence of this classicism.Vienna's architectural rules are quiet, with symmetrical columns and triangular gables. The street garden has an exquisite geometric design, and the harmonious and peaceful balance of lines is still floating in the air of Vienna. Haydn spent most of his time in Vienna.His teenage years were tough.He participated in the Stephen's Cathedral choir in his early years, and later left because of his voice change. He has been living on the streets of Vienna since he was 17, living in the attic of a well-meaning old acquaintance, playing the violin every day to earn money.He lived in poverty and was close to making ends meet until he met Buchholz, a businessman and patron who changed his life.Neither the vagabond Haydn nor his merchant patrons probably thought of what he had accomplished in this life: father of the concerto, father of the symphony, father of the whole of classical instrumental music, "Papa Haydn" of all. Haydn was 24 years older than Mozart, and he was already well-known when Mozart came to Vienna in 1781. The two met each other and fell in love with each other. At the age of 17, Mozart came to Vienna for a short stay and heard Haydn's symphony. real mentor.And Haydn told his father excitedly: "Your son is the greatest composer I have ever seen." When Mozart was looking for job opportunities, Haydn spared no effort to recommend to all the big men: "Every country should rush to get this piece of music. The treasure remains on its own ground." In 1785, Mozart dedicated the six quartets to "the dearest friend - Haydn" to express his deep gratitude.The friendship between the two lasted for 10 years until Haydn left before leaving. Both Haydn and Mozart's former residences are in the alley not far from Stephen's Cathedral. The attic where Haydn lived is close to Stephen's Church Square. Mozart's former residence is behind the church. This is his last residence before his death. Now it is the Mozart Museum. .Stephen's Cathedral is the heart of Vienna.This Gothic building is majestic and beautiful, as quiet and towering as every Gothic cathedral, it is the spiritual center of the city, and it witnessed Haydn's youth and Mozart's adulthood.Mozart married Constance here, and his dying home is at its feet.Entering Stephen's Cathedral today, there is still music lingering from time to time.This music belongs to the people who were here. In 1791, Haydn went to London, and Mozart struggled to write while ill.In the summer, he composed the German opera "The Magic Flute" for his long-time friend Schkaneder.He found solace in theater rehearsals.He wrote to his wife on vacation in Baden about his loneliness and helplessness, "childlike joy, which now seems impossible".He knew his situation and tried every means to break free.Mozart was already famous all over Europe at the age of 10, but his adulthood was not smooth.First break with the fettered court, and then run into walls everywhere in order to seek a commission.He struggled with his work, harder than normal.His character is innocent and simple, childlike, full of tenderness, eager to be happy but not happy.He needs simple love, but his wife can't give him. Mozart's music still fascinates people today.His innocence and hardship are what fascinates us the most.His music is like his character, with the sweetest, harmonious and cheerful tones in the world, as well as the deep melancholy behind the joy.The brightest tune, for a moment reveals a deep and silent melancholy.This is the most touching place.His last symphonies are both bright and dark, sweet and sad. "Jupiter" is brilliant and distant, suddenly bright after the darkness lasts, galloping a golden carriage in the temple deep in the universe.It is an intoxicating moment, in which the depth and breadth of the soul, the light and the dark, are in it. Mozart's last piece of music is said to have been commissioned by a mysterious client to write to a client, but it eventually became Mozart's elegy for himself and for all souls.It is a complex and great work, and the cooperation between choral and instrumental music is perfect.There are ominous premonitions, death approaching with shadows, tragic struggles, chorus and strings rising alternately in tension, and the purest white heaven, the holy melody hovering in the sky above the head.Majestic, ethereal, opening and closing melodic lines. On November 20, 1791, Mozart was in rehearsal and became bedridden. Died on December 5th.When the news of Mozart's death reached London, Haydn couldn't believe it. He burst into tears, and wept every time he mentioned it to anyone. 1791 was a turning point of the times.Far away, Paris is swaying in its destiny, the massacre of the Great Revolution has not yet reached its climax, and the future of the revolution is still hesitating before the crossroads.Simuldan and Govan in the movie have not had time to speak their own declarations, and Danton and Robespierre have not yet become life-and-death enemies.The king is not yet executed, nor is the scaffold stained with four thousand bloodstains.The Enlightenment still maintained its ideals, never thinking that the revolution would end up with an emperor.Bonaparte was approaching from the field of the Revolution without anyone noticing it.Enlightenment, reason, and order remain the manifestos of revolution, and the dream of a rational new world remains inspiring. In the end, however, everything went beyond imagination. When the revolution got out of control and became a bloody massacre, when the ideal of pure reason had to be realized by eradicating dissidents, the world fell into irrational chaos.Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.war.The revolutionary constitution still glows from the scorching rostrum, and the war heroes as dictators have begun to crown themselves. The world has entered a state of war, political wars, and people's hearts are also experiencing ups and downs.Before the Great Revolution, inspired by the Scientific Revolution, the whole of Europe worshiped universality, order and justice. However, when the Great Revolution tried to permeate these concepts throughout the world, people discovered that rationality and order were not easy to obtain.With blood sacrificed, turmoil swept across Europe.War gives the impression of naked contention, giving birth to states and nationalism.Reason has lost its place, its claims of universal progress have been increasingly doubted, and what appears to many as a vain, presumed master of truth is in fact only part of the human struggle. Disappointed with the world, individualistic heroes begin to be born.The individualistic hero was once born in the Renaissance era, but that was born from the control of religion, born from the barrenness of the Middle Ages, but at this moment the hero is born from the universality that dominates the world, from the heart Born out of rationality, a unique and heroic temperament is born, a temperament of giving life for a certain ideal, surpassing rational orders, and pursuing the full expression of the heart.When reason becomes a cold command, the passion of individualism becomes the only temperature that ignites the artist's heart.This was not a brief setback following a revolution, but a century-long struggle that lasted well into the 20th century. This is the end of the classical era and the beginning of the romantic era. Beethoven came to Vienna in 1792. Beethoven is the hero of the transition from classicism to romanticism.He is the last master of classicism and the first master of romanticism.Beethoven came to Vienna in 1787 to study at Mozart, but due to the sudden death of his mother, he returned to Bonn to take care of his family. In 1792, when Haydn came back from London, he made a detour to Bonn, met Beethoven at the Grand Duke's court, and agreed to accept him as a disciple.At this time, Beethoven's patron made a shocking prophecy: "Go to Vienna. You will take over Mozart's soul from Haydn." 1791 was the closest time for Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, and it was also the only time when they were not in Vienna.Like a breath in a movement, there is a sighing space between phrases. Beethoven is the hero of music.When he first arrived in Vienna, he was not popular.Many people have rumored that this young man is very talented, but the real duel is too much for them.They said he played too loudly and unrefinedly.Beethoven was never the courtly darling of court; he was stubborn and self-absorbed, and his manners seemed vulgar to others.He has been writing, from a few piano concertos, to two well-received and moderate symphonies.During this period, he found that his ears were deaf, and he insisted on creating even more painfully under the painful cover.During that period, no one could think of his embarrassment, but from his letters, we can see a desperate soul struggling with himself, bearing all his fate alone. In 1803, he wanted to dedicate his third symphony to Napoleon, the hero of the Republic, because Napoleon was committed to peace and some kind of republican ideal, but Napoleon became emperor, which made him very disappointed, so he tore it up angrily. Dedication, leaving only the title.In fact, he himself is the hero, and the symphony should have been his.Belongs to him and bestows on him. Beethoven ushered in an era of personal expression in music.Mozart achieved the ultimate perfection of form, and Beethoven brought classical music and symphony to another brand new heaven.He expresses emotion through music.His loneliness, his anger, his despair, his uncompromising struggle, it's all in his music.Power, depression and ascension are transformed into confrontation and resolution between themes, giving the music infinite tension between major and minor, and between great darkness and great light. Beethoven's music is the music of brilliance and power, the music of inner struggle. In 1802, he wrote his will in Heiligenstadt, admitting that he had been suffering from deafness for six years. He thought about death, and only art became his only resistance.His symphonies are all after this determination to die, and each one is a destiny.In the melodic picture of gold and black intertwined and struggling, the abyss is overcome by joy. Today we can pay homage to Beethoven's former residence in Heiligenstadt, which is where he wrote the will of Heiligenstadt.The former residence is in the suburbs, very beautiful, with a small yard, a two-story building, and beautiful trees.In the peaceful country sunshine, you can see the flickering of the leaves and feel no grief of any battle.The will was placed in the cabinet, and it was placed calmly, which made people feel thrilled.In the end, Beethoven didn't talk about his pain with anyone until the day he was completely deaf.He suffers alone.Lock all battles in your heart.The final grief is brought into another world by the musicians, leaving us with only endless splendor.When we heard the magnificent Ninth Symphony he wrote after 12 years of complete deafness, we can only understand why it is called "Ode to Joy" only when we understand the pain. In Vienna, Beethoven is buried in the Musicians' Tomb.This is a vast cemetery in the western suburbs of Vienna, where Vienna's proudest musicians are buried.Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert's tomb and Mozart's tomb, the masters of classicism are buried here forever.The cemetery is full of green grass, the tombstones are simple and beautiful, and the flowers are always fresh, just like the harmonious and elegant classical chords in music. There are too many musicians in Vienna, Mahler and Bruckner in the romantic period, the Strauss family, the father of waltz.The Music Museum is a very worthwhile place to visit. There are separate introductions to musicians and a special exhibition hall of the Vienna Philharmonic.Viennese music has always maintained an inner and exploratory nature. Mahler's symphonies are full of innovations, but they follow the steps left by their predecessors in spiritual exploration.This is also the temperament of Viennese literature and philosophy.This restrained exploration can be seen in Musil's Man Without Personality and in Canetti's autobiographical trilogy.Not to mention Freud's psychoanalysis and Wittgenstein's philosophy of language, they pushed the human mind inward into areas that were completely undiscovered by the predecessors.Vienna's inward quest yielded its most brilliant artistic expression. This is the century of music, the century of emotion.The beauty of music lies in the commonality of emotions, so it will never be out of date.As long as there are difficulties that no one knows about in this world, and there is a tragic destiny in the heart, there will always be souls standing in the heavy rain, listening to Beethoven in the ear, and crying like rain. The train should be a very good mode of transportation. There are good and cheap train options between Germany, Austria and several Eastern European countries.The subway in the city extends in all directions, and the daily ticket is 5.7 euros. 1.St. Stephen's Cathedral: The most famous Gothic church in Vienna, where Haydn once participated in the choir and where Mozart got married. 2.Mozart's former residence: near Stephen Square, it is the place where Mozart wrote the opera "The Marriage of Figaro", and has become the Mozart Museum. 3.Beethoven Paskvarati's former residence: Diagonally opposite the University of Vienna, where Beethoven created works such as "Pastoral", you can see Beethoven's piano; Heiligenstadt former residence: the northern suburbs of Vienna, you can take the suburban tram, it is The place where Beethoven wrote his famous "Heiligenstadt Testament" can still be seen in manuscript. 4.Central Cemetery: In the western suburbs of Vienna, various celebrities in Vienna are buried. Many famous musicians such as Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Strauss, Brahms, etc. are buried in the tomb of the musicians. 5.Hofburg Palace, Schönbrunn Palace, Belvedere Palace: the luxurious palaces of the Habsburg dynasty. 6.Music Museum: The three-story exquisite museum is hidden in an inconspicuous alley. It is divided into the Vienna Philharmonic Exhibition Hall, the Musician Exhibition Hall and the Sound Technology Exhibition Hall. You can learn a lot about sound and music, and it is worth visiting. "The Biography of Beethoven" [France] Romain Rolland (1866～1944) translated by Fu Lei Literary scholars believe that Romain Rolland is a second-rate writer, perhaps because he lacks skill and ruthlessness.However, Romain Rolland himself does not appear on the stage as a writer with first-class skills. He is always a fighter, a fighter who struggles with self, pain, and insignificance in his life.It can also be seen from the three people he chose to write biographies: Beethoven, Michelangelo, and Tolstoy, all of them are geniuses who endure pain and fight against life. Romain Rolland wrote in his contrived preface in 1927: "The Biography of Beethoven is by no means written for academic purposes, it is a song for a wounded and suffocated soul." Fu Lei described this book in his translated preface in 1942. : "Only with the spirit of whoever goes to hell if I don't go to hell, can I save a sluggish and selfish nation: this is the lesson I learned when I first read this book fifteen years ago." These words may be worthwhile until today quote. "He is the greatest and best friend to those who are suffering and struggling. When we feel sad for the disaster of the world, he will come to us...singing his sad dirge on the harp, comforting those who crying people. "Evening is approaching, and thunderstorms are brewing with it. Then heavy clouds, full of lightning, blacken the night, with storms, and that is the beginning of the Ninth Symphony.—Suddenly, when the wind When the storm breaks, the darkness is cracked, the night is driven away by the sky, and the day is returned to us by the force of will." "Human Music" [US] Menuhin (1916～1999) translated by Leng Shan The history of music written by musicians is better than that of ordinary people, especially music masters.Because a good musician will talk about history from all aspects of auditory experience, skills and knowledge, instead of laymen like us who can only talk about the historical status, thoughts and feelings of some works.Writing from the inside makes one understand why great people are great.It's a pity that music masters rarely write. We are very lucky to see Mr. Menuhin's "Music for Humanity", a good book introducing the history of music.Menuhin talked about the birth and evolution of music, the personalities and musical characteristics of different musicians, the history of musical instruments, the knowledge of harmony, the characteristics and styles of bands, and historical trends of thought.Everything is woven into personal experience, so everything is interesting to read. "Bach is music's servant as well as its lord. "Mozart sang the most tender and painful voice in the most gentle musical language. "One of Beethoven's most powerful features is his use of silence. "Schubert represents a conscience responsible to itself - not to some higher authority. "What Berlioz inherited from Beethoven, and in turn taught it to others, is that every instrument in an orchestra should have its own place, and that no instrument should be subordinated. "Part of Paganini's charm lies in his corpse-pale face. "A great deal of modern Western music has become overly synthetic, experimental, arbitrary, rational and unconventional, and unintelligible to others. Modern music, while faithfully reflecting our times, is also loud, aggressive, disjointed and Often ugly. "Music does convey or evoke the widest range of emotions, and how it does so has to do with how we perceive music and select it in our brains... Part of the fun of music is left and right brain coordination and a synthesis of emotion and analysis.” "People Without Personality" [English] Musil (1880～1942) Translated by Zhang Rongchang Vienna was as rich in writers and philosophers as it was in musicians.Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, the Vienna School of logical empiricism, Hayek, the master of liberalism, Schrödinger, one of the founders of quantum mechanics, and many writers including Canetti, and of course Musil. Musil is one of those generalist intellectuals still alive in the early twentieth century.He entered the Military Technical Academy at the age of 17, and later studied philosophy, psychology, mathematics and physics at the University of Berlin. The protagonist Ulrich in "The Man Without Personality" is a character who tried unsuccessfully to become an officer, engineer and mathematician.Such experiences make the characters complicated and cold-eyed.Ulrich is not talking about the Classical Age, but about the end of the Classical Age in Vienna before World War I.This is the best book written about that era. "It is precisely this phenomenon that is revealed by everyone who sees an experience not as a mere personal event but as a challenge to one's intellect, an experience because of its place in a series of logical actions Only then does he get his own meaning, even his own content. Then he also has a lesser sense of what he's doing."