我沉醉在音乐中—贝多芬
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I LIVE ENTIRELY1 IN MY MUSIC—BEETHOVEN

 

Beethoven probably began to go deaf after what he called his ‘terrible typhus’ of 1797, but he tried to keep it a secret, while consulting doctors and trying various remedies, such as the application of almond oil. He was extremely anxious about its possible effect on his career as a musician, and embarrassed by its effect on his social life.

   In the summer of 1801 he wrote to tow friends. To Franz Wegeler in Bonn he wrote that he was very busy, with more commissions than he could cope withand publishers competing to get hold of his latest works, but he was worried about his health, and particularly about his gradual loss of hearing. He had been leading a miserable2 life for the previous two years because of his deafness, and had avoided human company because he found it hard to tell people that he was deaf. He would always say, “I live entirely in my music.”

  Two days later he wrote to Karl Amenda, a more recent friend. On the same lines, expressing the anxiety that his best years would pass “without my being able to achieve all that my talent and my strength have commanded me to do.” His fear that his deafness would prevent him from realizing his artistic3 potential led him to contemplate4 taking his own artistic life, but in the so-called ‘Heiligenstadt Testament’, addressed to his brothers and found among his papers after his death, which he wrote in the depths of despair in October 1802, he said that he had rejected suicide, and was resigned to his condition. He explained that his deafness was the reason why he had been withdrawing from people’s company, because he found it so humiliating not being able to hear, but he did not want to tell people about it. Although tempted5 to kill himself, “the only thing that held me back was my art. For indeed it seemed to me impossible to leave this world before I had produced all the works that I felt the urge to compose.”

During the summer of 1802 he had spent six months in Heiligenstadt, thirteen miles outside Vienna, on the advice of one of his doctors who thought that his hearing might improve in the peace and quiet away from Vienna. But his pupil, Ferdinand Ries (son of the leader of the Bonn court orchestra) visited him in the summer, and during a walk in the summer, and during a walk in the woods pointed6 out o fan elder twig7. Beethoven could not hear it, and this made him very morose8 , As the winter approached he realized that his hearing was no better, and that it was likely to get worse, and he might end up totally deaf.

It could be argued that Beethoven’s deafness helped the development of his art: isolated9 from the world, and unable to perform, he could devote all his time to composing, He was already composing less at the piano, and the first of his bound sketchbooks, in which he made detailed10 drafts of the works in progress. Date from 1798. In his panic, at the beginning, Beethoven may have believed himself to be deaf. He suffered from tinnitus ( humming and buzzing in the ears), and loud noises caused him pain. In 1804 his friend Stephan von Breuning, with whom he briefly11 shared lodgings12, wrote to Franz Wegler about the terrible effect his gradual loss of hearing was having on Beethoven: it had caused him to distrust his friends, and he was becoming very difficult to be with. But Beethoven did not start using an ear trumpet13 until 1814.

But above all else, Beethoven was dedicated14 to his art and the urge to compose remained with him throughout his life. It may be that he shielded away form the commitment of marriage because he knew it would interfere15 with his art. From a very early age he wanted to compose and, although he needed to earn a living, he wrote ‘I love my art too dearly to be activated16 solely17 by self-interest.’

贝多芬开始失聪大概是在1797年,在染上他称为“可怕的斑疹伤寒”后,但他想尽量保密,同时去看医生并试了各种疗法,如使用杏仁油。作为一名音乐家,这对他的事业所可能产生的影响使他感到极度忧虑,同时这对他社会生活的影响邮局是令他十分难堪的。

1801年夏他致信给两位朋友。在给波恩的弗朗茨·韦格勒的信中他说他很忙,创作疲于应付,出版商争着要得到他的新作,但是他担心自己的身体,特别是担心听觉渐渐在丧失。在前两年由于他的失聪,生活开始变得痛苦,同时他避免与他人在一起,因为他不愿告诉别人他聋了。他常常说,“我完全沉醉在音乐中。”

两天后他写信给卡尔·阿曼达,一位新结识的朋友,在同样的字里行间,他表示他担心自己的黄金岁月将在“我没有凭才能和力量取得我应得的成就”中度过去时。他担心失聪会使他无法发挥艺术潜力能,这样想法导致他去考虑结束自己的艺术生命,但是180210月,他在极度绝望中写给弟兄们的所谓“海黎詹斯登遗嘱”里说,他已放弃自杀的念头,愿意顺其自然,这是他死后在他的书稿中找到的。他解释说耳聋是他远离众人的原由,因为他觉得失去听力是非常丢人的,可他又不想被别人知道。尽管他想自杀,“唯一能阻止我的是我的艺术。说真的在我没有把我觉得立即该谱的曲子都创作出来之前,我不能离开这个世界。

1802年夏,他已在距维也纳十三英里的海黎詹斯登度过了六个月,这是按照他的一名医生的建议,认为呆在维也纳郊外平静的地方有助于他听力的恢复。但他的学生斐迪南·雷斯(波恩宫廷乐队头头的儿子)那年夏天去拜访他,并一起在树林里散步时,他指着一个正用稍稍长成的树枝做的笛子吹奏的牧羊人。贝多芬却听不到,这使他非常郁闷。到了那年冬天,他意识到他的听觉不但不见好转,而且我可能每况愈下,以至彻底失聪。

有人说贝多芬的失聪帮他提高了他的艺术:与世界隔绝,无法演出,他得以全身心地投入创作。他创作的钢琴曲本已越来越少,在他装帧过的概要手册的第一册中,他详细地做了从1798年起的作品计划纲要。他一开始,忐忑不安的贝多芬就认为自己多半会变聋,他饱受耳鸣的痛苦(耳朵里嗡嗡作响),巨大的嗓音使他痛苦不堪。1804年,他的朋友斯蒂文·冯·勃鲁宁曾与他共同住过一段时间,这位朋友在写给弗朗茨·韦格勒的信中说,贝多芬听力的逐渐丧失给了他可怕的影响:这使他不再信任他的朋友,同时别人也很难与他相处。但贝多芬直到1814年才开始带助听器。

但无论怎样,贝多芬献身于艺术并且一生致力于作曲。他避开结婚可能是因为他认为这会对他的艺术造成阻碍。早年时他就希望创作,尽管他需要维持生计,但他写道:“我深爱我的艺术,我绝不会为一已之利所驱使。”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
2 miserable g18yk     
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的
参考例句:
  • It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他,这是可耻的。
  • Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。
3 artistic IeWyG     
adj.艺术(家)的,美术(家)的;善于艺术创作的
参考例句:
  • The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
  • These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。
4 contemplate PaXyl     
vt.盘算,计议;周密考虑;注视,凝视
参考例句:
  • The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate.战争的可能性太可怕了,真不堪细想。
  • The consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate.后果不堪设想。
5 tempted b0182e969d369add1b9ce2353d3c6ad6     
v.怂恿(某人)干不正当的事;冒…的险(tempt的过去分词)
参考例句:
  • I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚,但还是没开口。
  • I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。
6 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
7 twig VK1zg     
n.小树枝,嫩枝;v.理解
参考例句:
  • He heard the sharp crack of a twig.他听到树枝清脆的断裂声。
  • The sharp sound of a twig snapping scared the badger away.细枝突然折断的刺耳声把獾惊跑了。
8 morose qjByA     
adj.脾气坏的,不高兴的
参考例句:
  • He was silent and morose.他沉默寡言、郁郁寡欢。
  • The publicity didn't make him morose or unhappy?公开以后,没有让他郁闷或者不开心吗?
9 isolated bqmzTd     
adj.与世隔绝的
参考例句:
  • His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
  • Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。
10 detailed xuNzms     
adj.详细的,详尽的,极注意细节的,完全的
参考例句:
  • He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
  • A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。
11 briefly 9Styo     
adv.简单地,简短地
参考例句:
  • I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
  • He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。
12 lodgings f12f6c99e9a4f01e5e08b1197f095e6e     
n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍
参考例句:
  • When he reached his lodgings the sun had set. 他到达公寓房间时,太阳已下山了。
  • I'm on the hunt for lodgings. 我正在寻找住所。
13 trumpet AUczL     
n.喇叭,喇叭声;v.吹喇叭,吹嘘
参考例句:
  • He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴,我吹喇叭。
  • The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。
14 dedicated duHzy2     
adj.一心一意的;献身的;热诚的
参考例句:
  • He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
  • His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。
15 interfere b5lx0     
v.(in)干涉,干预;(with)妨碍,打扰
参考例句:
  • If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话,可能弊多利少。
  • When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件,棘手的事情就来了。
16 activated c3905c37f4127686d512a7665206852e     
adj. 激活的 动词activate的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • The canister is filled with activated charcoal.蒸气回收罐中充满了活性炭。
17 solely FwGwe     
adv.仅仅,唯一地
参考例句:
  • Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
  • The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。
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