Enough with the
digression. Yasushi Akutagawa was a splendid composer in my humble opinion. I
love classical music and his Rhapsody of 1971 is reminiscent of Russian or
rather Soviet composers like right off the bat Rachmaninoff or Stravinsky or
some other such composer; maybe even the Armenian Khachaturian, Edvard Grieg`s
"Peer Gynt", or "Hungarian Rhapsody" by Franz Liszt. Turns
out, according to Wikipedia, he was friends with some of those Soviet
composers. I am not very well versed in Soviet composers. I just caught a
glimpse of their music on Radio Belgrade 2, at high school and I remember my
father had a small LP collection of the music I found boring as a kid.
Now the memories are starting
to pour in. Radio Belgrade in general, during the `80s and the `90s of the last
century, was a treasure of sorts and a shelter from the crazy Balkan wars and
the world in general. No one asked me where I am going to be born or if I
wanted any wars. How insignificant I was and still am. Radio Belgrade was there
to alleviate my soul. It still continues in its own footsteps. Conservativism
that appeals to me so much because it is one of the things that remains
steadfast in the everchanging world.
Radio Belgrade 2 still has the
leading role in promoting classical music. I must admit I don`t listen to it
anymore and now I'm thinking of going back to it. Not as a means of escape but
nostalgia.
As I am listening to Akutagawa`s Rhapsody I am definitely being transferred to another world, not to mention
the cinematic vibe it conveys. Here is the definition of the rhapsody from
Wikipedia, "A rhapsody in music is a one-movement work that is episodic
yet integrated, free-flowing in structure, featuring a range of highly
contrasted moods, color, and tonality. An air of spontaneous inspiration and a
sense of improvisation make it freer in form than a set of
variations."
The last sentence is the key,
for me. Freedom in everything artistic is the key to originality. Rules
constrain. Stifle. Some people like the rules because they make them feel safe,
less frightened of the unknown or unpredictable. Rules are for those who are
practical, pragmatic, and efficient. I am not saying the opposite is better.
None of those is better per se. Rules make your life easier. Improvisation
bears a particular danger of failure. You are always on the edge.
There is no quality in
improvisation or rigid planning. They are just that - a means to an end. The
end result should be originality. We should strive for originality, which is a
hard task but not an unattainable one. Doesn't matter if we fail at it. At
least we tried and learned something in the process. Or maybe there is nothing
original on the face of the earth and cannot be. Remember Plato`s theory of
ideas. Anyway, learning is my driving force and what`s sustaining me. So as I
am writing this I am learning about R. Akutagawa`s son and am impressed how
music connects people. how true enthusiasts do not care about wars. I am aiming
at the Russo-Japanese or Soviet-Japanese war of which I have yet to
learn.
For the time being, I am
listening to Akutagawa`s opus on YouTube, where else. Here is Prima Sinfonia
that is so reminiscent of the Polovtsian Dances. Just let me mention my fascination with
people who were artists and doctors at the same time. Like Chekov, Borodin and
our own poet Jovan Jovanovic Zmaj (Zmaj means dragon in Serbian). What chromosome bears the two
unequal dissimilar talents?
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