Do musicians make good couples?
Will two musicians, particularly two violinists, make a good match? Or will the competition tear them apart?
Replies (95)
Perlman's wife gave up her violin to support the great man.Violinists tend to be secretly traumatised by their own expertise ( 25 years of full playing in concert hall/loud orchestral enviroments where fullnes of sound is often way above safety norms-60 -100+ dB),and that is usually the hard work in relating to others .The walls of sound are sometimes so psychologically impenetrable ,that disrelationship is preferable.
Not that I'm a gossip, but aren't Julian Rachlin and Janine Jansen dating?
Carl.
Hi,
Carl, really?!?!??!?!?! Wow.
The answer yes. Depends more on the personalities. But often it is said that it's better if you don't marry one who plays your instrument. Three is a crowd.
Cheers!
I don't think it is a good idea to spend a whole life with a dude who does the same thing as you, and you never have even a little chance to feel yourself as a music star in front of your dude.
I know violinists who are married to violinists and it most certaintly can work!
I have yet to have the pleasure of dating a fellow musician, but I do have concerns. One of the most rewarding parts of being with someone is the fact that you're introduced to a world unlike your own. I think I would miss that a bit.
Gil Shaham and his wife, Adele Anthony, are both violinists. She is very good, but maybe not quite as good as he is. They sometimes do concerts together, and she records for Naxos (her recording of Glass's concerto got good reviews). However, judging by her recordings, I think her interests are somewhat different from his.
I know this is a bit off topic but I just have a comment on "competition" among violinists. I think the whole idea of competition and "perfection" is fueled in part by the note perfect recordings we hear and the desire (conscious or not) to immitate them. If our goals are to become the best violinist and musician that we can be, a competitive attitude is nonsensical because the standard by which we judge ourselves ought to be highly personal. Of course we can be inspired and learn from the playing of others, but while we strive and wish to play better we don't need to play like someone else. For instance, if we try to immitate "John Doe" violinist, we will always be a second rate "John Doe". How can we envy someone's playing which is by definition their own and, however beautiful, not the way we will play it?
It's every student's responsibility to search for and develop their own concepts of tone, phrasing, vibrato, etc. so that their playing will be trully their own. If that is our goal, then its hard for me to see how competition fits into the equation-- at least that kind of unhealthly "unfriendly" competition which we heard of in the violin world.
I have a very personal feel for this topic, as my fiancee and I are not only both violinists, but members of the same string quartet as well!
I think it takes a rare combination of personalities, musically and emotionally. One of the reasons I find Evelyn and I have lasted (we've been together now for about 7 years) is our ability to recognize what each other's strengths are. We work together to bring out those strengths in each other, whether we're arguing a point in quartet rehearsal, schmoozing the crowd at an event for our orchestra, or just planning the rest of our lives together.
I don't feel envy for the grace and fearlessness that she brings to her playing -- in fact I'm in awe of it, and it makes me feel like maybe I can be more fearless when I'm on stage. She's told me that she feels admiration for what she says is my multitalented persona (I make no claim of that -- those are her words, not mine). We also promote each other to presenters and contractors as getting "two for the price of one", and we somehow manage to divvy up the work that comes in an equal manner. That is, of course, unless the gig is on viola (she doesn't pull double-duty, but I do).
To me, this isn't a situation that's limited to two violinists, or two musicians. In any relationship, there has to be that recognition of abilities in your partner that are not your own, and that may exceed yours in some way. For that relationship to be successful, there can't be jealousy or envy of those abilities, whatever they may be. When I look at Evelyn, I don't see a competing violinist. I see my wife, who happens to do what I do, and what we both love.
Thanks for those illuminating responses, esp. Peter and Michael.
Congratulations, Michael! You sound wonderfully in love.
In my opinion two musicians definitely make good couples. Two violinists - well, I don't know. That experience I haven't had :) however... dispite personality of course being the deciding factor... I think the success of such a relationship would depend on the type of careers that they had. If they were both soloists, it could be rough. One soloist is enough for one family. Then again, with two soloists, they'd always be on the road and wouldn't feel left out, or left at home for the sake of a career. But I feel that if they were chamber music violinists, or orchestral, they should have a great relationship. It seems to me though, they each would have their own niche. One is better at one technique or style than the other, and vice versa. Perhaps like my teacher and her husband, one would be a violinist by profession, and the other a violinist for fun. They're both REALLY great violinists. At any rate, it all evens out in the end, I think...
Somehow I suspect that this question comes from a romance in an orchestra. (grin)
Anyhow, IMHO the result depends on the intellectual maturity of the individuals. If both are confident with(in) themselves, the union will prevail. That does not mean that both must be be at the same professional level. Their love must eliminate jealousy.
The problem is that only the test of time will prove whether the union is viable.
BTW, my wife (in business) has a higher rank and I have no issue with that. In fact, I'm proud of her.
The female approach to this topic is more precise and closer to reality. They seem to know what they are talking about. It happened to me. I married a pianist who accused me of making her dump her career for the sake of my. We divorced after 5 years. Unless you're both succesfull good artists and an "intelligent" couple, it will not work. Unfortunately so.
Amadeu,
That's such a terrible story. I'm so sorry. I think that unless one in such a couple is constantly learning new things from the other person.. and I have felt that awe of a significant other's musicianship.. and make oneself a better musician because of it, (because of them, really), then that musician couple probably can't work. Your former wife seems like she stopped looking at you in awe and complete love. That's very hard.
Hi all,
I am currently going out with a violinist. We are also stand partners in orchestra. Because we will both be in this orchestra for the next 2 years, he and I have an agreement where at rehearsal, we are stand partners first, everything else second. This is a safety net, in case we get in a big arguement in the next two years. (sorry, that was really poorly written...)
~Jessica
Greetings,
do orchestras have one night stands?
Cheers,
Buri
I'm dating a fellow violinist in our youth orchestra, also my stand partner. since we're both not very good, there is nothing to compete for =)
This is an interesting thread (although we've had it before - did the writer ever get his girl?). I've dated a few musicians, although never a violinist. A couple of them were very good; not *that* much better than me, however I felt the threat to my own musicianship so acutely I dwindled into nothing in their presence - couldn't play in front of them, and basically started denying my own abilities for fear of humiliation. However, there have been cases with others where, although we had this vast thing in common, it was the proverbial elephant in the living room - something we just didn't discuss, ever. But most memorable is the science teacher who had played the flute as a teenager; I got to hear a whole lot of his playing that summer... but he never showed the remotest bit of interest in mine, even though music is my job.
Musical couples: Viktoria Mullova and Matthew Barley. Andre Previn and Anne-Sophie Mutter.
lol interesting discussion. I guess we should all be careful to notice who our stand partners are :)
Musicians need support. There isn't any reason why two musicians can't give that to each other and preserve their own art - if they can become each other's muse. That fire of creative energy can spill into art as well as relationship. Mutual respect is, of course, required. Those unions can produce works of art of their own.
Lisa
Buri, I laughed out loud. Thank you! I needed a laugh tonight. :)
Lisa, well put. Have a star.
I definitely need support...one look at my bank account and you'd agree! Now if I could just find a woman of pecuniary advantage...
I've thought of using Robert Johnson's trick, but my taste keeps getting in the way.
Benjamin
Picking the ugliest one in every town so that you always have a place to stay?
By the way, about the musicianly romance: been there, done that, have the divorce (almost). My soon to be ex is now dating a band director. Talk about adding insult to injury! Ouch!
To be fair, though, it wasn't the musician part of the equation that ended our relationship. It was the me part of the equation. I'm a pretty screwed up dude, and I now have the pleasure of my own undivided attention on a regular basis.
It doesn't matter if you are musicians or not. What does matter is that you treat the other person with dignity and respect, show yourself to be a reliable person, and be happy with yourself. If you aren't stable and happy and able to deal with life, no relationship is going to work, no matter who the person is or what she or he does, or how much he or she may love you and care about you. Take my word for it, I found out the hard way.
Benjamin
Jim,
Bingo.
Benjamin
I wasn't sure, because there was the other trick of hooking up with Robert jr. Lockwood's wealthy mother.
as long as your spouse/partner understands what goes into being a violinist and respects that as well as respecting you, the relationship should be fine whether they play or not.
i always thought it was 'illegal' to date some who:
a)you played in a chamber group with
b) who played the same instrument as you. (bi-sectional dating).. : )
I'm only 19, and not exactly thinking about marriage.. any time remotely soon... so what do I know!? Plus, I'm a violist, so my perspective of competition is a lil bit different than that of a violinist ; )
Everyone I meet these days is bisectional.
The problem with Lisa's point about becoming each other's muse ,is that the fruitfulness of such a muse relationship is dependant on idealisation.
I love the video of Perlman clocking into a hotel with his own family ,while on tour...Everybody tired , the pain of keepin the kids up that late a visible strain.
A New Zealander once told me that the level of idealisation is inversely proportional to the distance from the problem .
I think that is pretty applicable .
The problem with Lisa's point about becoming each other's muse ,is that the fruitfulness of such a muse relationship is dependant on idealisation.
I love the video of Perlman clocking into a hotel with his own family ,while on tour...Everybody tired , the pain of keepin the kids up that late a visible strain.
A New Zealander once told me that the level of idealisation is inversely proportional to the distance from the problem .
I think that is pretty applicable .
Benjamin, that's depressing but probably true. Yet a vast proportion of musicians are screwed up/unhappy/unstable etc... is there hope? Especially when coupled with another person who's screwed up/unhappy/unstable etc?
And Mark, wow, that muse observation is just too accurate. About distance, did you mean that idealisation is more likely the closer you are, or the further away?
One more thing: can any non-musician (possible even as specific as string-player) ever understand what's involved in being one?
The greater the distance ,the more powerful the muse, is what I suggested ,Sue
An example of the opposite is Dali's moving hell and high water to get his muse ,by taking her from marriage to a poet friend .Utterly ridiculous that he had a castration phobia ,because of ( how he gained) her prescence by his side.Almost all of dali's work centers around Gala .That's a hard example of how gaining something at all costs ,looses the essence of it , not for arts sake ,but for the hidden blank cheque it presents to the " possessor " of such a muse .
My soon-to-be-ex-wife is a model of stability, at least to anyone on the outside looking in. She is in many ways the complete antithesis of what is the stereotypical artistic type. I unfortunately am pretty close to the thesis, although she probably feels that I am closer to the arsis. :) Enough about me and my woes.
Benjamin
Both my current and previous teacher are married to violinists, and all four of them play/have played in world class orchestras, so I do not see how their career was affected.
I knew a situation where the woman was a much better cellist than the man was a violinist. She left for the bright lights.
I suppose it depends on the perception of each party: self-perception, perception of the spouse, and perception of music. Example: one of my relatives is an accomplished classical guitarist (played to professional level and taught for several years, although now retired). She is married to an amateur clarinettist who plays as a hobby in a local community ensemble. They each see music on a completely different level: for the wife, it is a complex discipline she has studied all her life; for the husband, a gung-ho struggle and social activity. However, because the husband is not really aware of any higher plane of musical understanding, this divide doesn't harm their relationship in any perceptible way.
P.S. Mark, are you familiar with the situation between Gabriel Rosetti, William Morris and their mutual muse, Jane Thingummy? They all shared a house together in peace and harmony - NOT.
Mark,
I disagree that the fruitfulness of a muse depends on idealization, but I do agree the probability of idealization is stronger with distance. (Well, actually idealization comes at any distance depending on the desire for unreality in the participants! lol) I think there is a place for a muse relationship that comes from full, realistic knowing, appreciation, and acceptance of the other. That includes all the daily chores as well as the exalted state of inspiration. It is a total picture.
Your New Zealander friend probably is correct, but why does distance have to define the power of a muse? In the example you gave, Dali brought his muse to his side - no distance. How did that reduce the power? I'm not sure I understand what you mean about "gaining something at all costs, loses the essence of it..." What essence did Dali lose? And I also don't understand the hidden blank cheque he received (or paid?) to be her possessor.
Seems to me a mutual "muse relationship" is the relationship of the possessor and possessed on both sides. Isn't that where the sparks of inspiration come from? The success of an artistic couple, it seems to me, would rest on the ability of the couple to move in and out of that inspired state. Maybe that is what you saw on the video. We, as viewers of the art (the finished product as it were - the creation from the interaction), seeing it, create our own idealization of how it came about. Thinking of the everyday relationship destroys our idealization, not the muses' relationship. I think we forget how human those muses are.
It is hard work to create art. I think any artist needs support from their partner. How much more support could potentially be available if two artists truly supported and inspired each other? I would like to think that is possible. ;-)
Lisa
I thought he was trying to say idealism requires lack of intimate knowledge, i.e. it requires distance. Probably true whether he said it or not...
I agree Lisa .
I also included your "safe distance" concept Jim ,in how I question whether Gala really gave Dali what he was looking for.
In his picture ' Dematerialisation Near the nose of Nero' ( I can put it up if any are interested ) ,Dali wrote that 'the two worst things that can happen to an ex-surrealist today are,firstly,to become a mystic and secondly ,to know how to draw.Both these forms of vigour have lately befallen me at one and the same time. ' .
Hubris and Nemisis graphically depicted in the mysic and graphic artist ,consectutively .
The mystic was unable to cover up for his wonder at Gala , but his hand displayed ,in its skill , it's refusal to limit that wonder to merely accurate representation of his emotions. In a sense ,Dalis' art is to be able to lie so convincingly that even truth ( were she a muse) were to be taken in.
The wonder of Dali's art is the generousity of the artist that what is being displayed is beyond truth ,in the same way that Dali was beyond Gala.Not vice versa.It was Dali's castration complex that made Gala an object beyond his reach .Gala was never more than victim, in being his literal muse.
She became his acknowledgement that truth ,justice and liberty are blind ,because that cannot afford characterisation in a way that can limit the sovereignty of those concepts.Gala was queen of everything Dali surveyed ,not all she surveyed.
It is why hubris and nemisis were their only guides, blinder than any mutually celebratory artistic border ,possession ,or encampment.
(1) What essence did Dali lose? --he lost Gala by his worship of her
(2) I also don't understand the hidden blank cheque he received --the cost was to create a dysfunctional clown of both Gala ,and himself ,in that their portrayal was only persona ,at the expense of their consumation of 'desire'
(3)(or paid?) to be her possessor ---the possessor was the viewer of their art ,as less sad than Dali's and Gala's s experience of it's conception.
I would call it "unsafe distance" before I called it "safe distance," but go on.
Thanks Jim ,you made my day again.
Muses have suffered , over the last 500 years various relational debunkers , in shape of many great thinkers ,who succumbed strangley to the opposite sex.Descartes died under the total despotism of queen Christiana of Sweeden ,at the ripe old age of 43.He had lost his mother at age 1.
Schopenhauer had also lost his mother ,I think about aged 2 .He was wild about the place of hindu thought within the western philosophies.
Fascinating about how zen is essentially anti muse .And there are some pretty hot links between that and ne-nazism.But dont take my word for it.
If a muse may perhaps be decscribed as a temporary need for loss of self consciousness ,then romantic love has also something of that function
Muse used to be a way of circumventing such overidentifiication. Because everybody knew the muse was a more functional myth than the 'curse' of passion .
Not so today in our tremblingly logical world .
There are models of relationship within color which could be used to show the place of poetic knowledge as less prodigal than prestigious.
a color muse model :-
Goethe has a definition of color at drastic odds with the newtonian definitions.
Goethe used shadow of color to determine the 'shape' of color.
Shape of color is utterly foreign to newtonian color wavelength theory.
Shadow of color is utterly foreign to those who wish to blind themselves to the borders of perception.
Yet the New Scientist report of Goethian color theory being ,200 years later far more coherent than newtonian ,should give all muses ,human or otherwise , a rather penetrative pause for thought.
( Descartes ,in his reduction of logic to the omission of poetic knowledge was actually doing all artists a great favour.Scientific thought is positively artistic because it posits a naive faith in doubt as testable in itself.)
Goethe was freeing colors from the slavery of overassociation.
A functional muse , somehow frees heaven from earth.
Surely it's mere coincidence that many poetic knowledge debunkers lost their mother before the age of 5 ?
Suely merest coincidence that Goethe ,to the point of inducing her personal tradgedy over decades ,kept his betrothed as far away as from himself as possible? Merest coincidence that he could get deeper than Newton into the shadows of hope ,or their associated blindnesses ,color ?
Of course if ' muse' is kept entirely out of the picture then schopenhaur's little preparation for zen in western thought has entirely assimilated the need for muse to be regurgitated as merely a product of a diseased imagination.
double posted
The preceding discussion of muse
Has become, for me, too abstruse.
At whatever distance
It creates a missense
To inspire by thoughts of chartreuse.
carry on Jim
roses are red
violets are blue
mama plays fiddle
and papa does too
much better than me Jim,
info is knowing
deep in one's heart
when the going gets rough
a muse gets a start
Took me a while Pauline ,very subtle ( referring to your post)
yellow chartreuse
for the quick and the dead
gothic surprises
for what's left unsaid
But silence seems golden
for those whom the thread
is not broken by wormwood
whatever is said
I got a little horn and I learned to toot,
I got a little gun and I learned to shoot,
now I can toot and shoot,
ain't I cute?
Come on Ben the chartreuse wansnt that good
To amuse emuse on warm summer nights
Kiwis do wiwis from spectacular hights
Not a bad couplet.
Sue, WHERE MY STARS? They are yours!
Sue ,you're a genius
kiwis dont kankan in the air
because to do so gives dispair.
Pour le Roi s'amuse
a couple of emus
did some poos?
Barf,
Buri
Mark N. said,
"A functional muse , somehow frees heaven from earth."
Bravo, all you poets!
Well, since Ms. Nessie is a pragmatist rather than a poet (at least with words), she'll just say:
A functional muse brings heaven TO earth.
;-)
Lisa
Great words!
A muse is a muse is a muse is a muse...
Is this musing amusing?
Actually true muses bring earth as a surrounding to the experience of heaven .It is like the hebrew word "íshah" which means a faithful lookout from a communal surrounding wall.It happends to be just one phoneme longer than ish ,a prototype of awareness .
Muse comes from the root for memory ,and the doubt of everyday life is the price paid by forgetting the gentle reminders we have that
remembering well is not simply a question of wishful thinking
Did you ever read George R. Stewart's novel "Earth Abides"?
A young couple whose joint love of fiddling
With chagrin found their ardor so piddling
That their fights over vibrato
Left 'em incommunicado
To the detriment - then loss- of their diddling.
No.
My significant other is just beginning to learn flamenco guitar. He is coming along very well, but sometimes he gets frustrated with something. If I try to step in and help, he gets huffy and will not listen to me. I have learned to keep quiet at those times, remembering how I used to feel when my musician dad used to comment on my playing when I was a child.
Basically, yes, two musicians can be a great match, as long as there is understanding. I think a musician couple can have lots of fun playing together. We like to play silly duets and probsbly drive our neighbors insane!
In response to a few requests regarding the Rossetti/Morris/Burden trio, here are a couple of links to brief descriptions of the lurve triangle:
http://www.victorianartinbritain.co.uk/muses/jane_morris.htm
http://www.xs4all.nl/~androom/index.htm?biography/p003494.htm
Jane Morris nee Burden was the ultimate Pre-Raphaelite 'stunner'; you may recognise her from the most well-known Pre-Raphaelite paintings: long wavy auburn hair, distinctive lips and prominent eyebrows.
Keri, I like the idea about playing together silly duets for neighbours:)
Sue,
William Morris lived in a house opposite to flats I live in - I see his plaque every day.
Carl.
Greetings,
why? did he leave his teeth outside the front door?
Cheers,
Buri
Buri, ow! I can count on you to bring laughs to almost any serious discussion. Thanks.
There is actually a fairly good film on the subject of this thread that came out in the 1980s I believe; The Competition. It stars Richard Dreyfuss and looks at the relationship between two pianists involved in a piano competition. Worth seeing if you have not already.
Buri,
Definitely, if his dentist was anything like mine...
Carl.
Carl, I Know Where You Live...
This thread has interesting connundrums.I would like to go on record for clarification on one small point.
(1)I retract the metaphorical usage I have used of functional shamanisn ,unequivocally and permanently .
LISA YOU WERE RIGHT
Well, if that was a small point, I shudder to think of points larger! ;-)
Ah, the sound of those words could almost be considered an earthly paradise.
(giggle)
Lisa
Carl,
I didn't realise you lived in Hampstead?! I still haven't forgiven or forgotten you abandoning me to the Death of Tybalt yesterday. End of term concert's rescheduled to May 27th. Need to debate with you and Livia about who's leading... I'll talk to you soon. The possibility of the two of us doing the Bach Double is seeming more and more likely, in whatever bastardised form!
Oh, Courtney Pine's playing at the Jazz Cafe, I think we should go.
And I think musicians can make fantastic couples, although my old teacher was married to Alex Balanescu and that turned out not to work, probably because he's not very nice though. It entirely depends on the couple, in my opinion.
Sophie.
Need anyone even ask if two violinists will work out? Of course!
Fade to bloomed sequence bathed in the golden light of string music accompanied bliss
Picture a happy couple coyly turning each others' pages, brushing smudges of rosin dust off each others' noses and lovingly warming each others' hands while setting new standards of visual extramission that will shoften even the biggesht shaft up a conductorsh assonance.
And then fast forward about a month . . .
Loving fingering corrections (lots of them) during rehearsal, the quiet shudders of one as the other screeches his/her strings while cleaning them, smudges of rosin dust left on each others' clothing now surreptitiously brushed off instead of proudly displayed as marks of affection . . . and a piece of tissue swirling in the toilet.
I think I need to eat . . . getting a bit punchy this morning. But I see no reason whatsoever that two violinists couldn't get along just fine . .. at least for a while. :P
-J
Sophie,
I don't live in Hampstead - I live in Holborn. I checked the plaque this afternoon; William Morris lived there from 1856 - 1859 (Rossetti also lived in the same house in 1851).
You can lead if you want to. The Bach double sounds fun, especially after last summer's little outdoor fiasco... ;) I may not be able to go to next week's rehearsal either (I have my A2 practice evening recital the next day), but we'll see.
Lisa,
Congratulations on your vindication...
Carl.
Ah, okay Carl, I Don't Know Where You Live: I thought it was Walthamstow. Are you opposite Kelmscott, then?
Jeff, I dearly wish I had stars to give you - your post cracked me up. Oh well, maybe tomorrow.
If she'd be happy to teach me a trick or two I'd stick to her like rosin.
Sue,
No, Red Lion Square (it's near Holborn tube station).
Carl.
Omg, my parents got married there.
Interesting links sue, why do you think Rosetti buried his poems in the coffin?
---was he perhaps recollecting ,paying his respects more properly with the removal of them from the grave?
Guilt? I presume he'd cleared his conscience by the time he dug them up again.
I wonder Sue ,
it may be that by discovery that he (Rossetti) excorcised her (Jane Burden's) power over him .It would be the choice of guilt to let the poems remain hidden in the grave with his first muse Lizzie who had spent whole periods in unheated water frozen into pose of modelled Ophelia . Lizzie's mad muse was stronger than death ,to Rossetti .
Lizzie's secret exhumation may well have helped his sanity with a view to exposure of his manuscript to the real world.
It would be an example of a muse's safest distance from himself .Letting the manuscript alone bear witness to his love for Jane Burden,through the poetry inspired by Lizzie.
It is no co-incidence that Lizzie - 'mused' as Ophelia's provides a direct link with the ancient druidic ceremony of graduation by spending the whole night submerged in a closed coffin ,filled with water , composing a song.
It is the ability to sing the song beyond such surrounding coldness that Rossetti 's buried poems resonated.
To me, exhuming love letters to a previous wife is about as hurtful as it gets...
"exhuming love letters to a previous wife is about as hurtful as it gets..." - but appeareances can be deceptive ,Sue
For by the same token , all of Byron's and Shelly's poetry is abuse on a grand scale. Swapping of muse and destroying the lives of those they loved was second nature to those two great romantics.
I think the film "shakespeare in Love " also targets the efficacy of shared loves' as muses.The biggest tension is between the impossibility of shakespeare's search for love --because what mind could satisfy his imagination ,let alone remain unchanged enough in physical form to remain the focus of his attention-
and the impossibility of his writing-for what page could contain the sum total of what he meant?.That he had writers block was superceeded by the monstrosity of holding back ,through his hurt .
Remembering well is not simply a question of wishful thinking it is a question of association that honours all that is good ,noble and faithfull,and passionate .
This is a destructive process of idealisation ,unless a muse can be shared --in shakespeare's case ,fairly universally.
So it could be said that the pain of loves' retreat is the gain of muses' heat.
I think Rossetti just wanted to stand on his own two feet again ,without the mental crutch of the guilt of whether he was morally responsible for his creativity because of who he dreamed of .Especially if ,by dreaming too well ,he felt he had killed her ,the real her ,in some way.
It could be that Rosetti was sick of hiding behind his own genius's dependance on "what worked for him" .Maybe he just wanted to meet the world head on ,no longer following the De Quincy ( confessions of an english opium eater) ,Coleridge ,romantic tradition of creative experience being dependant on out of body states,usually ,like Grieg ,stoned on opium.
A muse became thus a quest for more centred thinking ,more true living ,and more heartfelt loving.
If musical poetry ,art poetry or even a muses' inspiration were to reflect the same artistic tensions in every performance , muse would be destroyed by consistency , and Rosseiiti's genius reflects that .
That he hated such is seen in his displayal of venus and astarte ,his greatest poem and latest great art work.
Jane Burden was his muse for Venus ,Lizzie for Astarte ,in the same picture on the right in the background .Astonishingly he painted a third figure on the left , ,behind .That was a breathtaking doppleganger , merging the beauty of both in one single entity.
That is his gift of androgenous muse to posterity,and is not lightly underestimated.
Rossetti's muse was a doppleganger of hope ,not guilt.
Muse or muses?
9 muses and then their applicators ,the charities.
double post ,
but that is maybe the whole point.
You mentioned two: who were the others?
The others were the impressionist /secession artists who considered monogamy as dangerous and possibly alien to art.The extent of erotica in letter form between these left little to the imagination.Certainly Cezanne's hostel habits were hardly ever brothelized.
Does that answer your query Sue?
Ah, gotcha... I thought you were speaking only of Rosetti; I wondered how he could possibly find the time to be inspired by nine different muses:)
Yes Sue ,
the question seems to be if poly-emotions are too fragmented to be sincere.That would naturally follow if faithfulness to a universal muse is considered optimal .
An example of this tension is found in the Alban Berg Violin concerto ,written 'to the memory of an angel ',Mahler's niece ,who died aged 19.
Much of the music is poly-emotional.5 emotions per 3 notes is not uncommon in good performances of this piece .
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Discover the best of Violinist.com in these collections of editor Laurie Niles' exclusive interviews.
Violinist.com Interviews Volume 1, with introduction by Hilary Hahn
Violinist.com Interviews Volume 2, with introduction by Rachel Barton Pine
April 8, 2005 at 07:36 AM · im very close with a couple of world class violinists who are madly in love and never compete!