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‘Thomas Bernhard, Glenn Gould, and the Art of the Fugue: Contrapuntal Variations in Der Uniergeher Michael P. Olson. ‘Otto Friedrich, citing the sources for his biography of Glenn Gould, the late Canadian pianist, makes a brief, important reference to Thomas Bernhard: 1 should perhaps mention here one mysterious Gould book that I deliberately did not quote, a novel of sorts entitled Der Uniergeher (1986) factually 1963], by Thomas Bernhard. The narrator is much involved witha fictitious character named Glenn Gould, ‘the most important piano virtuoso of the century," whom he supposedly met ‘when they were both pupils of Vladimir Horowitz at a master class at the Salzburg Festival. Berahard’s Gould lao has a Rockefeller sant, practices Chopin for hours on end, and in general bears no ‘elation to realty, [wrote to Bernhard to ask him to explain why he hha created this fantasy, but he never answered.! Readers may never fully understand the mythological significance of Gould in Der Untergeter. Evident inthis novel, however, are Bernhard’s cal culated narrative forms and his admiration of certain types of artists. Later inthis paper I wil show that writing itself, for Bernhard, constituted a fugal ‘enterprise, resembling an array of features with more musical models, Spec ically, Der Untergeher borrows from Johann Sebastian Bach’s fugues and Gould's theories of fugue. Twill argu that the use of contrapuntal narration in Der Uniergeher, typical asa later Bernhard novel, broadens the parame- {crs of contemporary lcrature, For this great ambivalence alone, Bernhard is one of today’s most interesting writers: an artist who attempted, via bar roque forms and the mythologization of topical figures such as Goud, to sur ‘mount certain of his own anxieties. Modern Austrian Literature, Volume 24, Nos. 2/3, 1991 a 74 MODERN AUSTRIAN LITERATURE, For the most part, critics have discussed music as form in Bernhard's ‘works without detailed substantiation. In this respect, Gerald A. Ftzis cor ‘ect in maintaining that "aumerous reviewers and critics have pointed to the ‘musicality of Berahard’s works, but to my knowledge none have yet under- taken a needed, detailed analysis ofthis significant apect"* Carl Zuck- :mayer's contention is correct but typical nits lack of specificity: “Was mich immer wieder bei [Berahard]fasznier, ist die Musikaltt seiner Sprache, in Rhythmus und Tonart, Auch seine Sticke sind gleichsam in symphoni- schen Sitzen komponiert.” Similarly, Manfred Jurgenscn does not trans- cend the general claim that "Bernhard schreibt Arien in verschiedenen Denkarten, so wie cin Komponist in unterschiedlichen, jedoch aufeinander bezogenen Tonarten komponiert.” It is not a question of whether Bernhard implemens a series of harmonic variations throughout hs fiction (he does), but of how he does this. As wil be shown, Der Untergher bears narrative forms with which to measure fugues in crossover conten: from counterpoint in musie proper to contrapuntal variations in Bernhard’ othe prose works and to fiction in general ‘One may understand fugues in another nonmusical contest. Ia psycho- logical terms, a fugue sate represents lapse of consciousness during which a person's behavior is carried out for which there is no subsequent recollec- tion. Bernhard's protagonists would appear to suffer occasionally from such fugues: Strauch in rast (1963) and Saurawin Versirung (1967) wander about in highly emotional states and appear, at various times, catatonic, confused, and agitated. Bu aimless though theit conduct and comments may seem, i is questionable whether Strauch and Saurau ever display the clinical symp- toms of a fugue state. Coincidentally, dearth of narcative fugue is evident inFrostand Verstng_ and in factthese earliest novels display less couster- ‘int than Bernhard’s subsequent novels; fugue writing begins in earnest in Das Kallverk (1970). Fugue as a musical term ssi uncertain despite the sit-hundred-year evolution of its theory. What has become elear, however, is the unison in which twentieth-century musiologists have dismissed the fugue as an of

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