Non-musicians and the piano

Non-musicians and the piano

Engels modestly described himself as the "second violin" of Karl Marx, which is a wonderful phrase! It is well known that he was fluent in several languages and that he loved music, which shows that he understood the language of music. In a letter to Marx's second daughter, Laura, he mentions that his piano was "in the corner between the fireplace and the folding door". It was 1884, so it seems that it must have been an upright piano! Unfortunately, it is not known how he played this instrument.

The philosopher Nietzsche, who was half a musician, also composed several pieces. It is recorded that when his idol, Wagner, was leaving Geneva to move to Bavaria, Nietzsche went to say goodbye. Seeing that the apartment was empty, except for the piano, he sat down and played a piece. The Wagners, who were busy with the move, dropped their work and listened.

A modern example of a man who loved music as well as wisdom is Satie and Adorno. The former not only learned to play the piano, but also taught others to play the piano, but for the skills of the difficult music, he thought he was unable to; the latter's level is higher, is a deep understanding of music theory and can compose musicians. Once, Adorno played Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 11 in B-flat major, and even Thomas Mann could not help but admire it. It seems that this literary figure also knew the piano.

Among the great literary figures, Lev Tolstoy was a great friend of the piano. Although he disparaged Beethoven's works after his deafness in "On Art" as dreamy, he liked to play Beethoven's music. Since his youth, Tolstoy had put a lot of effort into learning the piano. He said that it was to win the admiration of the opposite sex. After retreating to the fields, he was attracted to music. There were three pianos in the living room of the farmhouse, and they were played solo or in combination, which became a country pleasure for the whole family. When the living prototype of the fiddler in the "Sonata of Kreutzer" visited, Thoen used to accompany his guests. His wife was also an aficionado, playing perhaps even better than her husband. Their eldest son was a professional pianist.

Another example of a literary man's love of the piano: when Pasternak, the author of Doctor Zhivago, was young, he admired the Russian composer Scriabin to the core. It was difficult for him to decide whether to become a pianist or to engage in literature.

Like Pasternak, the great scientist Franz Poulenc was also at a fork in the road. He was one of the key founders of quantum mechanics and a close friend of Albert Einstein. Planck not only seriously contemplated whether to pursue a piano profession, but he also began his academic career with a music-related paper - "The Purity of Tone Scale". On one occasion, he played in an ensemble with Einstein, who played his beloved violin, and Poulenc played the piano, and they enjoyed themselves until dawn.

Van Gogh, a painter of unusual mental exuberance, set the canvas on fire as if he were playing a strong musical note. It is also true that at one point he was interested in the keyboard, and he wanted to learn to play the piano, perhaps to explore the subtle connection between colors and notes.

Renoir, the famous Impressionist painter, also played the piano, though not very well. His wife was also fond of music, and when he got married, the painter gave his lover a piano as a wedding gift. With this background in mind, one can make associations when looking at his paintings. In one of Renoir's paintings, two girls are sitting side by side in front of the piano, as slender as juxtaposed lilies. What is more interesting is that the piano comes with a pair of candlesticks. Seeing it, people will certainly think of the past when there was no electric lighting, and feel interested! In the English teaching film "Learn from Me", there is a humorous skit in which a governess teaches two female students about social etiquette, and the piano they play, which also has candlesticks, is out of tune! This may be an allusion to the antiquity of the instrument, an allusion to the fact that social etiquette is as old-fashioned as the sound of an out-of-tune piano.

Renoir, of course, was more sensitive to the relationship between color and music, once saying, "I want a very loud red, as loud as a flood bell."

So, these music-loving painters must have had a kaleidoscope of colors in mind when they played themselves or listened to others play!

In another piano-related painting by Renoir, there is no candlestick on the piano, and only one person is playing.