‘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 a74 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