Question: Hello, Lyn, I have this question about composers, in particular. It doesn't necessarily have to be musical composers, but the main idea is: How do you know the intention of the composer? I know when you listen to a great composer, that is conducted by someone like Furtwängler, there're are certain thought-objects--something I'm looking into--that you can get from the music, but also, from metaphor that's embedded in the music. So, how do you actually know the intention behind the composition, not as written on paper, but as played correctly, with the correct intention by the conductor.

LaRouche: We have two things to go by: In modern European Classical composition, the key point of reference, is Johann Sebastian Bach's conception of counterpoint, which is typified, in the course of instruction by two things: First, to understand Bach, and to understand music, effectively--that is, to have a rational insight into music--you must start with the equivalent of the Florentine bel canto singing-voice training program. The significance of the bel canto program, the Florentine model--which is not something invented in Florence, it's something which became adopted in Florence; it's a long process of evolution of these things, from, as far as we know, ancient Egyptian times--that the human speaking/singing voice has certain physiological characteristics, which determines six basic types of singing voices, determined by register shifts, as distinctions, and other qualities.

But, essentially, that the musical system is organized as a social process, which leads to the idea of counterpoint. That, if you have-- if taking a group of people who are singing--an average cross-section of that population--you're going to find sopranos, altos, mezzos, tenors, baritones, and basses. So, when the human beings sing, or even speak, they are using voice apparatus, which divides the population that's singing or speaking, among these different types of singing voices. And therefore, the interesting part of music, as a social expression, is how do you bring harmony among these different kinds of singing voices, each of which have characteristically different register shifts, and so forth. Then, you have all these things, modalities and so forth, the lawful ways in which these bel canto- determined scales, so to speak, function.

Now, once you start from that, now you understand what Bach's system of counterpoint is, what we mean by "well-tempered counterpoint." You mean a system of tonic values, which correspond to the bel canto Florentine (for example, in this Bach case)--Florentine program, of development of the human singing voice's natural qualities and potentialities. And therefore, counterpoint, the key system, is based on this; the well-tempered system is based on this; and counterpoint is based on this. It's based on ironies, or paradoxes.

The mistakes that are often made, by people who are trained in, say, Classical instrumental performance, especially, are chiefly two: One, they believe that music is accomplished by playing the notes, as readable from the score. And, that leads to confusing and terrible results. Or, boring results. The second thing, is, since Bach in particular, all Classical composition is based on Bachian, well-tempered counterpoint; which is based, as I said, in turn, on the Florentine bel canto method of singing-voice training. And, all Classical music, the instruments, such as the violins or the wind instruments--the string instruments, the wind instruments--must be performed by the human mind of the performer, who is imposing a performance by the instrument, to make the instrument sing. And, the standard for the singing of the instrument, such as the woodwind--for example, you're going to play an oboe? The oboeist must have in his mind a bel canto singing-voice conception of the tone he's about to produce. And when he's an experienced performer, he's able to induce the oboe, to produce that particular tone, in the appropriate way. Same thing with the clarinet, which is a more difficult instrument to control, in some respects.

The string instrument--obvious: The Classical string performer projects the tone to be produced, in the performer's singing-voice mind, and imposes this singing-voice image of the tone to be produced upon the performance of the instrument.

All right, now, that's the first part.

The second, then, is that, in good counterpoint, as in the Bach Preludes and Fugues, as examples of this kind of approach: You have a single, pivotal idea, contrapuntal idea, which governs the composition from before the beginning--that is, a pause before the beginning of the performance--to a momentary pause at the end of the performance. So, this entire composition is one idea. It's not a succession of ideas, it's one idea. And, this one idea, is the contrapuntal idea, which makes it a unity.

In addition to these considerations in general, in the modern European well-tempered counterpoint, you have a second one. This does not occur in a vacuum: Let's take a case. You go to the Well-tempered Preludes and Fugues. Take the First Book. Take the second fugue, the C-minor. All right, now, concentrate on that; understand how that fugue works. Then, go ahead, go to the Musical Offering of Bach, much later, in which he utilizes the same problem of the C-minor, from the Preludes and Fugues, uses it in a different way, on the question of six voices, and comes out with a composition which is well-known-- the Bach Musical Offering theme, as it's known.

This then, is picked up--directly, explicitly--by Mozart, in about 1782, where he's attending regularly a salon which is organized by his friend Haydn, and with van Swieten, this baron who has all these Bach manuscripts, plus Handel and so forth. And, they have these sessions, these salons every Sunday, in which notable musicians are participating and working through, especially, Bach. And during this process, Mozart becomes quite an accomplished improvised composer of fugues--he's an expert at it. He also takes this Musical Offering theme, and he uses that for a series of compositions, including his six Haydn quartets, which are all pivoted on this thing, and also on the famous K.457, and especially the K.475 (the keyboard work).

This thing, you look at the history of music, for Classical composition, and you will find that this concept, which you can trace, for purposes of illustration, from the C-minor fugue of the First Book of Preludes and Fugues of Bach, through Mozart, through various works by Mozart; through the work of Beethoven; through works by Schubert; through works by Mendelssohn, by Schumann, and Brahms: And you find that this same idea is expressed in different ways, in different compositions, but it's all the same idea. Each composer is treating the idea in a special treatment, in a different way.

If you are a keyboard performer, for example, then, when you approach the keyboard, you have the distinct idea of that whole composition from beginning to end, in your mind, as one, single idea-- otherwise, you shouldn't touch the keyboard! Don't touch it! Keep away from it! Until you have this single idea. Then, you perform, from beginning to end, you perform this--from the first pause, before you touch the keyboard: You sit, say, at the keyboard; you concentrate; you try to block out all distraction; you focus upon the idea of the composition, as one idea from beginning to end--and then you start! Which is the way Furtwängler conducts.

So, the audience, therefore, the participants, then sense, when the composition is complete, a sense of unity of effect. And, this is how it's produced, by this process. They may not understand how it's produced, but they recognize it, and that is a successful performance. A performer who may be very skilled, but lacks the ability to do that, will be a failure. Even though they're very skilled, they know all the techniques, they know the music, they know the theory--everything--but it doesn't work. They have to have this ability to concentrate, and physically perform the work, with that kind of concentration, under that kind of control, to produce that kind of effect.

So, we have two things, then, going: We have the idea of the unity of a contrapuntal composition, as one idea; which is based on the bel canto singing-voice training. You have the idea of the unity of that composition, as a process of development from beginning to end, so it's an idea which starts with a question, then ends with a reflex on the question that's now been answered: that kind of idea, through a process. It's like going from beginning to the end of a drama--it has a certain unity, from beginning to end, if it's well performed, Classical drama.

But also, you have not only the individual work as an expression of this principle of composition and performance; you also have the situation, as this Mozart case illustrates, from Mozart through Brahms--this reflection of Bach--that all of these composers are interacting with each other. And, that's the characteristic of the Classical music repertoire: Serious Classical composers are all talking to each other, in a sense; they're all interacting with each other, around the same kind of ideas. One guy presents the idea this way; another, another way. The same composer may treat the idea, again, and treat it in a different way than before. And, that's the way it works.

So, you have a sense of what is truth, by knowing first of all, the principle of unity of effect of contrapuntal composition; secondly, you have a sense of the unity of the social process, of interaction among serious composers and performers. And that's what you go by.

And, you may work in a lifetime at this. I know, with the case, of say the Amadeus Quarter, which was led by Norbert Brainin, this is one of the best quartets in modern history. But, it comes out of a great tradition. And these performers achieved a high level. But, they in doing work, would take the same compositions, and from the earliest recording of these compositions, to a later performance--quite a difference! But, the unity of effect is still there. But, usually, the unity is better: It's better done; it's more convincing.

You have this fellow, Andras Schiff, who is rather capable--more than capable--pianist, who was deeply schooled in Bach, and he's going back to Bach, constantly. And, his works, when I compare what I've heard of him, and when I look at some of his recorded performances, and what I've heard of later recorded performance, I see a process of development. It is not that the earlier performance was wrong--it's that the later one more accurately fulfilled, the intent of the composition.

So, these processes are going on. But, we understand, I think--as, in the musical experience--we understand that this is the process that is going on; and when you come up against Furtwängler, we are ecstatic in a sense, because here's someone who understands what he calls, playing or performing "between the notes."

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