VISION

Next around the circle of busts is Richard Wagner, who seems to be contemplating the destruction of the cycle of major and minor keys, and perhaps tonality itself. The story is that he was not a nice person, egotistical and sometimes bullying. Not to everyone's taste, but, still, some of the most moving nights I have had in the musical theater, were at performances of his work: the Flying Dutchman at the Metropolitan Opera, Jon Vickers singing Parsifal in Chicago and the big iconoclast, Tristan und Isolde, when I was in Los Angeles on business. (I was alone at that last one and happened to walk out to the parking lot with a member of the orchestra who looked at me and asked, "did you actually like that?" I did.)            

OLD SOURPUSS

A few steps from the pond and fake ruins in the picture I posted yesterday is an ornate octagonal bandstand. It is surrounded by six marble columns topped by busts of composers popular with the people who laid out the park: Wagner, Mozart, Rossini, Gounod, Tchaikovsky and this chap. The busts are a bit crude, possibly made of cement. 

While Beethoven had much hardship in his life, by no means was he always gloomy. Listen to the 7th Symphony, Op 92, the triumphant finale of the 5th Symphony, Op. 67, the "Spring" Sonata for violin and piano, Op. 24 or the ecstatic reunion duet of Floristan and Leonora in his only opera, Fidelio.            

Pharaohs, Maybe

From the Sunken Treasures exhibit. These may have been pharaohs or other high officials. The stylized cobra on the forehead is the giveaway.