Musical Geniuses

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Musical Geniuses

Is there such a thing as a musical genius, and – if so – what sort of characteristics would you expect him or her to have?

In popular imagination, geniuses are exeptionally talented, but they are also unpredictable and eccentric. Unfortunately this latter criterion elimates many of the greatest musicians in Western music. But it also allows us to consider the contributions of others.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) can easily be discounted. Bach led what most of us would probably consider a pretty boring life. Widely regarded by his contemporaries as reliable and hard working, he never travelled far from the small area in Germany where he lived. Married twice - but with no hint of scandal - he spent most of his life as a church organist and composer. It seems that the most exciting thing he ever did was to use the first letters of his name to form the notes of a theme for the unfinished final fugue in his unimaginatively titled work, The Art of the Fugue.

Edward Elgar (1857-1934), perhaps the greatest of modern British composers, led a similarly quiet existence. But although outwardly content to live the life of an English country gentleman, his music was almost the complete opposite - extravagant and restless, with a powerful emotional charge.

Sergey Rachmaninoff (1873-1943), a great pianist as well as a highly successful composer, also seemed to lack personal flair. He was described by one critic as looking more like a provincial banker.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770- 1827) fits our definition of a genius more easily. Moody and disorganised, particularly in later life, he is regarded by many as the greatest composer who ever lived.

But if we accept this popular definition, we must also consider other musicians. Italian violin virtuoso Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840) was promoted by his press agents as someone who was inspired by both God and Satan. He acted the part well too. Tall and thin, he had a long nose, a pale and long-drawn face with hollow cheeks, thin lips that seemed to produce a sardonic smile, and piercing eyes. One widely believed rumour was that he had killed a woman and imprisoned her soul in his violin, and that her gut wrenching screams could be heard as he played on stage.

Should a musical genius have an all-round musical ability, or is it sufficient for him to excel in just one aspect of music? Maurice Ravel (1875-1917) lacked a good sense of pitch and was only a mediocre piano player. Arnold Schoenberg's (1874-1951) highly original music came very close to reforming Western music completely, thus satisfying yet another often unspoken definition of genius. But he was not a good performer on any instrument, and was only a passable conductor - even when it came to his own works.

The history of music also presents us with a long list of flamboyant conductors, among them the imperious Hans von Bulow (1830-1894) and the charismatic Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990).

If these approaches to identifying musical geniuses seems wrong somehow, allowing well-known musicians to do the job for us is even less reliable. When Vienna music critic Julius Korgold got his talented 10-year-old son to play to Gustav Mahler (1860-1911), the famous composer repeatedly exclaimed “A genius, a genius”. The young Korngold ended up writing Hollywood film music, most of which has since been forgotten.

The one person everyone can agree on when it comes to identifying geniuses is Albert Einstein. Curiously, Einstein was also an amateur violin player, and often played Mozart sonatas with his friends. But despite his undoubted genius, the great physicist was weak on rhythm. “Can you count, Albert?” his fellow musicians often asked.

Sound familiar?

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Many people believe that musicians are more moody and prone to suicide than other professionals, and that - as a result - a greater percentage of them end their lives in mental institutions or are fated to live emotionally tempestuous lives. Musicians are also commonly suspected of being over sensitive to criticism, having delusions of grandeur and other neurotic traits.

The statistics fail to bear this out, although it is possible to find enough examples to make the case in front of those unfamiliar with Western musical history. Like actors, politicians and others obliged to face the public on a regular basis, musicians probably have their fair share of emotional problems. However, such problems do not constitute evidence of neuroticism.

Musicians probably have their fair share of emotional problems.

Beethoven was known for his moodiness, but this was probably closely related to his growing frustration as he began to go deaf. Among the famous composers, only Schumann and MacDowell ended up in mental institutions. Musicians probably have no more suicidal impulses than the rest of the population. But should a prominent musician decide to take his life, it is likely to get a good deal of publicity.

Perhaps the most morbid suicide was planned by the pianist Alexander Kelberine, who arranged his last concert programme to consist only of works dealing with death. He then went home and took an overdose of sleeping pills. Schumann jumped into the Rhine, only to be rescued by a fisherman. Rezso Seress composed Gloomy Sunday, a work that was once banned in Europe because it triggered a wave of suicides by young people on Sundays. Seress himself committed suicide by jumping out of a window. The vast majority of musicians, however, die of causes that reflect the state of medical knowledge in the particular historical period in which they live.

Some musicians certainly had sad lives. Mozart, perhaps the greatest of the composers in the Classical Period of music, died a pauper. The pianist Chopin, a Polish nationalist and tormented lover, was terrified of large audiences. He died of tuberculosis when he was 39. Bizet, a French composer who died when he was 36, was beset by crises of self-confidence and emotional upheaval. Unlike Chopin, his works only achieved widespread recognition after his death.

Wagner had the emotional maturity of a spoilt child.

George Gershwin only had a short life, but it was a good one. He died of a brain tumor when he was 39 after a rags to riches story that made him one of the most well known composers of popular music in the United States.

Others lived long and had much success, despite treating others abominably, including many of their friends. Wagner considered himself a genius as a playwright, poet, stage director, and philosopher as well as a composer, and was not shy about letting others know it! Although not particularly handsome, his personal magnetism was such that he had numerous affairs, usually with married women, despite the fact that he was married himself. His biographers describe him as having the emotional maturity of a spoilt child, complete with tantrums if he could not get his way. He died at the age of 70, widely acclaimed as one of the greatest composers of his time.

The pianist Franz Liszt's dashing good looks enabled him to have numerous affairs with many woman. He died of pneumonia at the age of 75. Contrast this with the fate of Schubert, who was short, fat, bespectacled and naturally shy. He died of syphilis at the age of 31 after his friends encouraged him to visit a brothel. Those who knew him well described him as having a warm and friendly nature. Somehow, it doesn't sound fair.

The life of J.S. Bach must have been very boring.

The majority of musicians now and in the past lead fairly quiet lives. Edward Elgar, a largely self-taught musician, rose from humble origins to become the first English composer in 200 years to gain international acclaim. He had a stable marriage, and was regarded by many as a typical English gentleman. He died at the age of 77. Sergei Rachmaninov, the Russian composer, also had a good life despite being out of step with his country's politics and music. He died at the age of 70.

The life of J.S. Bach must have been the most boring of all. He spent almost his entire life in the same small region of Germany where he was born. And nobody took much notice of him either. It was not until about 80 years after his death that his works attracted the attention they deserved.

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