XVIII
In Leipzig, L. begins composing, although he dismisses the fruits of his labor as “root-canal work” (162/221).
Time of composition: June 9–15, 1944. Time of narration: Summer 1943. Narrated time: 1905–?.
| | The Kabbalah is a Jewish mystical tradition with a strong numerological element. |
| he went so far as to commission | TM’s description of L.’s apprenticeship is heavily influenced by Igor Stravinsky’s (1882–1971) recollections of his studies with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908) in Chronicle of My Life (1935). |
| | André Grétry (1741–1813) and Luigi Cherubini (1760–1842) were composers of the Classical period, who lived a hundred years earlier than Berlioz, Clause Debussy (1862–1918), and the late Romantics from whom L. is deriving inspiration. |
| | Preliminary sketches of a musical score. |
| | Z. here implies that The Lamentation of Doctor Faustus is an oratorio. Later, he will consistently refer to it as a “symphonic cantata,” a hybrid genre pioneered by Felix Mendelssohn. |
| even if one no longer considers it essential | Another echo of Kretzschmar’s lectures in VIII on outworn conventions in late Beethoven. |
| Phosphorescence of the Sea | The most obvious model for this composition is Debussy’s La Mer (1905), which carries the subtitle “Three Symphonic Sketches.” Critics have also identified the string sextet Transfigured Night (1899) by Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951), the Firebird Suite (1908) by Igor Stravinsky, and Mendelssohn’s Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage (1828) as possible models. |