I used to think I had read Doctor Faustus....

....turns out I didn't really....(in my opinion) :P

Translation.

So you think you've read War and Peace huh? Well unless you read Russian I contend that you haven't. Sure you might know the story, know what the characters did and/or said (sort of), but you didn't read the words of Tolstoy.

The German poet, critic and scholar, Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel wrote a poem that the great composer Robert Schumann quoted in part at the beginning of his Fantasie Op.17:


Durch alle tone Tonet
Im bunten Erdentraum
Ein leiser Ton gezogen
Fur den, der heimlich lauschet


If you ran out today and bought a CD of some pianist playing the Fantasie, it is a virtual certainty that the liner notes would mention the quote that appears on the score, and include an English translation for you.

I just grabbed six CD versions off my shelves; here are their offered translations:


1. Through all the varied sounds which fill the world's many colored dreams, one whispered tone may be barely heard for those who listen in secret.

2. Through all the sounds sounding in the colorful earth-dream, a quiet sound comes forth for him who eavesdrops.

3. Through all the tones that vibrate about earth's mingled dream, one whispered tone is sounding for ears attent to hear.

4. Amid all the tones in the motley terrestrial dream, a soft drawn-out sound intones for the one who secretly listens.

5. Amid all the varied sounds which fill the world's mingled dream, one whispered tone comes forth for ears attent to hear.

6. Through all the sounds in the earth's varied dream, one soft note can be heard by him who listens carefully.

7. In all the myriad sounds of earth's many-colored dream there runs a secret tone for the one who knows how to listen.


"But wait Lex. You said you grabbed six CD's, there are 7 translations there...?"

Yes, that is true. Because I just made up one of them.
And no. I don't speak German.
Can it be said that I am translating the words of Schlegel? I hope not. But where is the difference?

One might read all seven of those "translations" and think that one or two of them are beautiful poetry, but not like one or two of the others at all.....

Poetry is, in great part, defined by diction, (word choice).

They all present the same idea that Schlegel is conveying, but none of them can possibly present his poetry. The same can be said for prose that has been translated.

So I just looked up War and Peace on Amazon and the first link was to a version translated by a woman named Rosemary Edmonds. Now I am sure she is a brilliant, competent, woman, but is she Tolstoy?

If you read her version of War and Peace and someone asked you "have you read Tolstoy?" You would probably say "yes; I read War and Peace."

....what does all this mean...? I guess the final point here is that literary translation (interpretation!) is a re-creative art.
The spirit can be captured, (but is by no means guaranteed).
The story can be learned, (shared).
But the prose.
The poetry.
Is beyond translation.


Incidentally; I am happy to entertain guesses as to which one of the "translations" I created. ;)

Cool....

....I "blogged" from my phone.

How useful is that?

....success?

Mobile blogging...?

Playoff Hockey

Sweet Georgia Brown I watch a lot of it!

Hockey's All-Time Top Twenty-Five

For no particular reason (generally the case for blogs I guess), here is my own personal list of Hockey's All-Time Top Twenty-Five:

1. Wayne Gretzky
2. Bobby Orr
3. Gordie Howe
4. Mario Lemieux
5. Bobby Hull
6. Eddie Shore
7. Maurice Richard
8. Jean Beliveau
9. Doug Harvey
10. Raymond Bourque
11. Howie Morenz
12. Jacques Plante
13. Guy Lafleur
14. Patrick Roy
15. Stan Mikita
16. Dominik Hasek
17. Denis Potvin
18. Terry Sawchuk
19. Phil Esposito
20. Glenn Hall
21. Bobby Clarke
22. Ted Lindsay
23. Mike Bossy
24. Mark Messier
25. Red Kelly

Very close to the list complied (through an extraordinary amount of work and knowledgeable input), at HFBoards.

LINK

The Liszt Sonata

A masterpiece like the Franz Liszt's Sonata in B minor can never have a final and definitive interpretation of course, but after working on it, (or even just studying the score in great detail) one begins to expect certain things from any performance.

It has been recorded more than 60 times by the latest count (source: International Piano), and I personally have about 20-25 recordings of it.

I thought I might list the ones I like the most (and least).

I find Horowitz' first account (1932) too fast, and the second one (1976) too affected, almost to the point of parody, and yet somehow, both are still brilliant and captivating.

Argerich's recording is famous and nothing short of amazing at times, but it strikes me as very rushed. I do not say she plays it that way, "just because she can", (I am sure she really feels it that way), but for me it does not work as a whole.

Leslie Howard's version is almost unbearably bland and fast to the point of total failure. It is a shame since during his incredible traversal of the complete works, he blessed us with so much wonderful Liszt. To quote another reviewer "unfortunately he makes it sound like just another opera transcription".

Brendel's 1981 reading is brilliant, his fugue is one of the best, and his structural power is, not surprisingly, incredible.

Richter (a number of live recordings) and Gilels (live, and a 1964 studio) are both stupendous. Filled to the brim with power, and yet elegant and beautiful.

Cziffra dazzles and has a exquisite tone through much of the work, but he comes off as quite episodic, with little overall structure.

Zimmerman's recording (1990) is wonderful and obviously planned down to every detail. The pacing and tempo relations are among the best achieved.

Pollini is fantastic. Sleek and modern, he builds the piece like an edifice of sound.

Pogorelich's rendition is another amazing one. Compare Pollini and Pogorelich and you can see how truly inexhaustible the work is. They could not be more different, but both work to great effect. Pogorelich is slower than most in many parts, but wildly fast in some of the faster sections. He seems to walk a tightrope, switching from gigantic power to amazing lightness.

John Ogden's 1964 recording is quite a disappointment, episodic to the point disconnection.

If I absolutely had to pick just one recording though, it would be Arrau’s 1970 recording. Seemingly carved from granite, it is a monument to structural cohesiveness, but structure is not the main feeling one gets from the interpretation. It is beautiful in tone, and free from all traces of affectation, but it is not just a “pretty” rendition. He has power to spare (in the vein of Horowitz and Richter), but never bangs, all the fortissimos are deep and rich sounding.

There are many more worth mentioning, but this is a good place to start.

My recommendations:

Arrau
Brendel
Gilels
Pogorelich
Pollini
Richter
Zimmerman

Blogger?

Ooooh, day two and here I am again, perhaps I will become a blogger.

Although I really don't like the term blogger. Do you? Does anybody? It's slightly embarrassing. I certainly wouldn't say to somebody, "yeah, I'm a blogger." Nor would I say, "yeah, I blog."

At this point I'm not too worried about it though.

For, two posts, does not a blogger make.

First Post! :P

Time will tell if this blog will serve any important purpose, but for now I had the time and inclination to set it up, and so here it is.

More later....(*he said hopefully)

hopefully
Holly
holly
haply
hourly
Edit...
Revert to "hopully"