Goethe's Musical Journey: From Zelter to Beethoven via Mendelssohn
The article explores Johann Wolfgang Goethe's complex relationship with music, focusing on his interactions with composer Carl Friedrich Zelter and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Zelter, a Berlin friend, kept Goethe informed about Berlin's music scene from 1796 to 1832. Both were initially resistant to new compositional developments, but Goethe's stance evolved. In 1821, Zelter introduced the 12-year-old Mendelssohn to Goethe in Weimar. Mendelssohn later played Beethoven's C minor Symphony for Goethe on May 25, 1830, despite Goethe's initial reluctance. Goethe's reaction shifted from 'That moves nothing' to 'That is grand!' and 'That is very great, quite mad!' Mendelssohn also played compositions chronologically, explaining how composers advanced music. Goethe described music's power as 'enormous violence' that lifts one beyond oneself, comparing Bach's music to 'eternal harmony conversing with itself before the creation of the world.' The article includes a video of Sayaka Shoji performing Bach's Chaconne.
Key facts
- Carl Friedrich Zelter (1758–1832) was Goethe's Berlin friend and musical correspondent.
- Zelter's last visit to Weimar was in July 1831.
- Goethe and Zelter corresponded from 1796 to 1832.
- Mendelssohn was introduced to Goethe by Zelter in 1821 as a 12-year-old prodigy.
- Mendelssohn played Beethoven's C minor Symphony for Goethe on May 25, 1830.
- Goethe initially said of Beethoven's symphony: 'That moves nothing, only astonishment.'
- Goethe later exclaimed: 'That is grand!' and 'That is very great, quite mad!'
- Goethe described Bach's music as 'eternal harmony conversing with itself before the creation of the world.'
Entities
Artists
- Johann Wolfgang Goethe
- Carl Friedrich Zelter
- Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
- Franz Schubert
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Johann Sebastian Bach
- Richard Wagner
- Ingeborg Bachmann
- Sayaka Shoji
Institutions
- Europeana
Locations
- Berlin
- Weimar
- Bonn