There's a Million Ways to Be
Franz Schubert was part of a long line of composers that didn’t write more music because they were afraid of not being as good as Beethoven. He was considered to be the next great romantic composer after him and it was a tall order the say the least. He was also a schoolteacher, and his father was a mediocre cellist. I always love thinking about his family music nights and the gatherings he had with the community. He had a relatively small circle of admirers in Vienna and composed an impressive body of work for how short his life was. To think that this was in any way stifled by an inferiority complex is daunting. Would he have been better off without Beethoven, or did we avoid some really terrible music because of this influential caution?
There is a meme floating around that I stumble into now and again that talks about the importance of participating in the arts, and its impact on your personal sense of humanity. The creative function of making music, performative, and physical art is vital to emotional well-being, and its propagation throughout society is necessary for healthy expression and public discourse. I still often get discouraged by the lack of recognition or the sense of qualitative inferiority to those who have walked the path before. I can’t imagine what it must be like to be publicly acknowledged as “the next Beethoven”, though. I think writer’s block would be more than just a minor inconvenience. I sometimes wonder of those who do not experience that sense of self are better off for it. I dare say that George Lucas could have benefited from a bit of humility prior to his endeavors into the ill-fated prequels. I know this isn’t a universal opinion, but the cosmos could potentially be a better place if we all wondered “what could have been” when it comes to those movies.
As for Schubert, I honestly am saddened that we didn’t get to hear more of his work. Not so much out of a sense of missed opportunity for greatness, but it is tragic to think he felt that he might not be good enough. We want to feel valued, and it is easy to dismiss the lack of self-worth felt by people of greatness as irrelevant and prima-donna behavior. I wonder if Schubert had surpassed his expectations in the sense that he were categorized as the successor to Beethoven, would we have the line of composers that no one has any knowledge of due to their own insecurities, or just a different handful of forgotten, because of the giant wake of a new hero? Would Brahms (Brahms is said to have also been intimidated by Beethoven) have taken a dozen years to write his first symphony, or would he have felt more confident, now that someone had jumped in the pool, first? Would it have been terrible?
What is true for me, is that once I decided that I wanted to participate in music regardless of the external circumstances, my life improved. Whether this is a result of a personal calling, or just the function of self-acceptance, I do not pretend to know. I still fall back on my fear as a crutch, now and again. I have been writing more music, exploring development of older compositions, and spending more time on the creative endeavors that contribute to the benefit of humanity. Each step of the way brings a new joy, and whatever your passions, I would encourage you to forget about Beethoven. He can’t hear you, anyways.
Yusuf Islam recently celebrated Tea for The Tillerman’s 50th anniversary, and I would direct you to another of his songs, that, while not on that album, (it first appeared in the film, Harold and Maude, which I also recommend), inspired me to do some writing today. Hopefully, your path follows its message. If you want to sing out, sing out. You know the rest…