Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8

It may just be the crazy hair of the conductor, but I can feel the crazed turmoil Beethoven wrote his Symphony No. 8 in 1812. It was during the time in which he took custody of his nephew, Karl. My analysis of their relationship will not do it any justice in terms of how intense and psychotic the situation was. Solution: read Maynard Solomon’s Beethoven and His Nephew. You’ll then understand the unconscious logic behind Beethoven’s No. 8.

The pulsing beats of the violins and the exaggerated notes on string must represent the strong emotion, both positive and negative, Beethoven had towards women, his sister-in-law Johanna, and his nephew, Karl. It is noted by Solomon that he hid his positive feelings a lot of the time, especially towards a woman. 

The segments of calm and quiet strings with steady, easy rhythm must represent the few moments he was content with his relations. However, most of the time he was in distress about how to keep suppressing a human emotion, called love, and act as a dictator in his household and with his associates. The psychotic state he possessed at the time he wrote No. 8 has been argued by scholars to explain for the creative explosion of Beethoven’s compositions during the era of 1812.

Like I probably mentioned, the lucidly beautiful symphony in F, known as his “little symphony in F”, was pure genius. It was composed like many of it’s kind, by other tortured-soul-like artists and musicians have. They all then to have used internal, mental hardship to foster the acquired taste for music and art everyone wishes he or she had. Of course, people intrinsically want what they don’t, right? GOODNIGHT!

The financial crisis of 2008 turns art crisis of 2008

How do I envision the national financial crisis affecting music/art/taste? WELL, let’s see, all the starving artists out there will indeed starve even more, aspiring musicians will have nowhere to go financially and no one to help them as well. I don’t want to say no one, but there will most definitely not be as much financial motivation on top of the mental/emotional trials of trying to make it “big”. 

I think people, conformist and consumer society, will lose taste in 3-D/2-D aka visual art. I mean there will be less motivation to donate to art galleries and artists, for support, because the funds obviously will be lacking or going to other means. However, I think that in times of any crisis, generally speaking of course, humans want someone or something to believe in and inspire hope. Whether that be a presidential candidate *COUGH BARACK OBAMA FOREVER COUGH COUGHHH* or spectacular music to listen to. Music in my mind can be the most effective escape from the overwhelming parts of life. People in our spiraling society need this kind of healthy escape… so bring on the music. 

There will, I predict, be a shortage of music production, however, what has or is currently being produced should be distributed for more reasonable prices. Especially for us already economically-challenged college students. 

I’m quite scared for the future of this crisis, to be quite frank. As I read more and more about what’s going on I realize it is my generation of young adults that is going to have to deal with all of this bullshit. And the fucked up part is that we had nothing to do with what it took to get to this point, considering I was obsessing over “All That” and juice boxes. Although I still both enjoy those two things at the age of 19, I’m a little pissed off at the current administration for allowing enterprises to go so haywire. All we can do is wait and see what we as a young generation can do to help… 

The first step to recovery of art, music, and tasteful art and music at that, is VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Especially my peers between the ages of 18-25, we need to get out there and VOTE in November to save ourselves, our futures, our education, and our art and music! 

BARACK OBAMA/BIDEN 2008!