The sensationalism in news reporting on television draws everyone’s immediate reaction and counter-reaction on social media.
I lost some more “friends” on Facebook recently, thanks to the stand I took over Asifa, the child who was brutally raped recently in Kathua. There were several of my “well wishers” who were angry that I did not take a stance for children from my community, who were similarly abused. I guess they did not see my timelines on the days I have lamented those. These are terrible times, and all such crimes are heinous.
In this situation, art has gained more meaning. It not only serves as a reminder to those who create acts of evil that humanity shall prevail; but also to all of us that we need to keep contributing to this planet. But how can an artiste remain undistracted and create in these times?
One of the biggest lessons in music is focus. I remember this scene from K Balachandar’s Unnal Mudiyum Thambi , in which an exasperated Kamal Haasan berates his musician-father, essayed by Gemini Ganesan, on his apathy to suffering. It was a statement from the late director on the ability some performers have to carry on despite it all. Extreme and polarised though this view is, it has stayed with me long enough to prompt a self enquiry. How did great composers manage to create such beauty ?
The answer is that the truly great were not apathetic. They were all deeply troubled. Beethoven, for instance, composed Symphony no. 3 (Eroica) as a tribute to Napoloeon, whom he originally saw as a liberator from the monarchy following the French Revolution.
This dedication was later withdrawn when Napoleon declared himself Emperor. If you take a walk into Vienna’s Pasqualatihaus, one of the houses Beethoven lived in, you will have to climb four sets of stairs to a narrow and small room with a window, where Beethoven did much of his composing. The ambience still bears palpable signs of a spirit that was free, despite the confines of his room, his powerful mind waged war against the political turmoil even while being focused on the music. Great minds can process things parallelly.
Breaking with tradition
Mozart, for his part, was a rebel. He believed in art not constrained by the dictates of either the church or the nobility. And his music showcased some of these ideals. The usage of specific musical ideas in several pieces was testimony to a break with tradition; the examples are too many to enumerate. Even in smaller piano pieces (’A Musical Joke’or ‘A Slice of Bread and Butter’) are seemingly impossible note structures, where a 11th note in a chord is played with one’s nose, the other ten fingers being simultaneously occupied. Through these statements, Mozart was part-mocking, part-countering the establishment. Despite the circumstances, he made a statement with his art.
Music and art have to rise above the mundane. But in doing so, they should not eschew the sense of reality. They have to draw from it, and act as a doorway to enlightenment. At their purest, they are owned not by an individual, but by the entire community for which they serve the greater purpose.
The writer is a well known pianist and music educator based in Chennai
