Jun 10, 2005
Beethoven: Genius, Anti-Pythagorean, Narcissistic Hooligan
There is an amusing piece of legendry, notorious among Randian Objectivists, according to which Ayn Rand once anathematized the music of Beethoven because of its"dark and malevolent" character. Now comes a piece in the London Guardian by one Dylan Evans of the University of the West of England , making a neo-Pythagorean argument to the same conclusion.
To test Evans's hypothesis, I suggest that you listen to Beethoven's Pastorale Symphony . If you listen closely enough--and attend to the background cleverly obscured by the music--you may well hear the"dark and menacing" sounds of sheep and other pastoral creatures gnashing their teeth and plotting mayhem and murder. If you don't hear it the first time, play the CD backwards. Trust me, it's there.
I don't have time right now to dispute Evans's" claims" (insofar as they amount to anything), but rest assured I will when I get the chance. In my universe, no one messes with Beethoven and lives to tell the tale.
To test Evans's hypothesis, I suggest that you listen to Beethoven's Pastorale Symphony . If you listen closely enough--and attend to the background cleverly obscured by the music--you may well hear the"dark and menacing" sounds of sheep and other pastoral creatures gnashing their teeth and plotting mayhem and murder. If you don't hear it the first time, play the CD backwards. Trust me, it's there.
I don't have time right now to dispute Evans's" claims" (insofar as they amount to anything), but rest assured I will when I get the chance. In my universe, no one messes with Beethoven and lives to tell the tale.