PNO4TE
I used to be the DIS Musician and a Jamborini...
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2001
I always got the impression that B&B's are rather beautified places in the US. But they are larger than the B&B's in the UK, where it is ofteh just three rooms rented out in someone's private house. The place nodnol stayed at is more simple, but rather like a B&B. I guess the German concept is rather unique to central Europe...
Love your armchair psychology: actually, I am the sunnier person of the two of us! When we were on our trip in the USA in 1992, Katharina always got told off for not smiling when someone was taking her picture.
I agree that the beach in winter is romantic in its way, have you ever heard of the painter Caspar David Friedrich? He was a German romantic landscape painter and a lot of his paintings are of the sea in rough weather. If you are intersted, check out his wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caspar_David_Friedrich
Ok, and since that started us on the tpoic of fine art - let's continue there. After I left an essay about German holidays on your TR, you set me another essay topic here!
I am not sure why there are so many German composers in that time frame. I think part of it might be that Germany at that time was not one country, but it was seperated into mayn different kingdoms, principalities, free cities, etc. All those kings and princes each had their own court and employed musicians. Maybe that made it easier for people to pursue a career in music and therefore more people with extraordinary talents could follow their vocation?
Really, the Germans rather see themselves as the people of writers and philosophers. We had some extraordinary writers: Goethe and Schiller are the two biggest names and then quite a few philosophers starting with Kant. But German engineering is something we are particular proud of as well and in the 15th/16th and early 20th century German painters like Lucas Cranach, Albrecht Dürer and then Kandinsky or Max Ernst are quite big names.
I think to a certain extent if a nation is prosperous, they will excell in many areas. And until Europe was so stupid to get itself into the first world war, it was probably the most affluent region in the world.
I have seen bits of the Silly Symphony cartoons. I guess I need to check them out one day properly!
We have stayed at B&Bs in the US that were simply a few rooms in a private home and also stayed in some that were mansions converted to palatial suites. I think the concept is kind of universal no matter what it is called!
Your description of the unique government structure in Germany (and other European countries in the 1700 and 1800's) is probably the very reason that composers were "bred" to succeed. Every king or lord would have his own personal musician and they were paid well to do well. Mozart made a lot of his money this way! Beethoven did lots of commission work too. Musicians could be paid very well in governments like that.
I also have a personal belief that many of the brilliant minds who are busy inventing and enhancing computers and space travel and things of that ilk would have been magnificent composers in a different age.