HERMANN HESSE AND THE DIALECTICS OF TIME Salvatore C. P. ...

Hesse's penchant for 'klassische' (classical) composers, and particularly for Bach and
Mozart, clearly, by far his favourites (see above), sheds light on Hesse's ambivalent
feelings towards Beethoven, whose contribution to Western classical music has
traditionally been regarded as neither entirely Classic nor Romantic. 24 As noted in
Chapter 2 (section 3), Hesse praises Beethoven for his mastery of the theme and
variations form, but is critical of the composer's melodic inventiveness, which to his
mind is flawed by a certain degree of banality. For Hesse, Beethoven is also the
harbinger of Romantic frenzy and intensification of dramatic contrasts, which
Wagner would subsequently lead to its apotheosis: 'Ich empfinde Beethoven absolut
nicht als zu Bach und Mozart gehorig, sondern als Beginn des Niedergangs' (letter of
1932 to Ludwig Finckh; Musik, 157). 25
Two further aspects of Hesse's relationship to music, his appreciation of
staged music and his problematic response to light music ('Unterhaltungsmusik'),
are dealt with in connection with Wagner (3.3) and with jazz in Steppenwolf(3A).
3.2 Music: 'Das bedeutet: die Welt hat einen Sinn'
Erich Valentin appropriately stresses that 'die Frage nach dem Sinn des Lebens' (12)
is fundamental to Hesse and reverberates throughout his works. Searching for a
meaning in life implies looking for values. Values are the pillars of ethics, and
Hesse's quest for meaning in life has a clear moral focus, partly rooted in his pietist
upbringing. 26 Although his early works were under the spell of an aestheticism
typical of the fin de siecle (see Eine Stunde hinter Mitternacht and Hermann Lauscher), it
is evident that his interest in the interrelation of ethics and aesthetics occupies
virtually his entire career. Hesse's essay 'O Freund, nicht diese Tone' (1914), which is
24 As Blume states, for example, 'Beethoven is a Romantic Classic or a Classical Romantic' (172).
25 In his speculation on music, Leverkiihn comes to the conclusion that '[i]t was Beethoven's decision [...] to
elevate the development section of the sonata form to the central event of musical discourse' (Vaget, 170).
LeverkUhn answers to Zeitblom: '[ich denke an Beethoven] und an das technische Prinzip, durch das die
herrische Subjektivitat sich der musikalischen Organisation bemachtigte, also die Durchfuhrung' (Mann 1941,
191).
26 Novalis, whose education was influenced by Pietism and whose work played a seminal role in Hesse's
development, had a strong moral focus too: 'Fur Novalis ist der Begriff der Gottheit untrennbar von dem Begriff
des Moralischen' (Weibel, 27). For the influence of Pietism on Hesse's development see Chapter 1, section 3.
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