I’d like to, as stupefying of a proclamation (perhaps shameless too) as it is, get to know just about everything about: Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms. If we must talk about the goals of human life, I think this can be already a rather substantial one.
I’ve always thought that there’s much of a similarity between Chinese romanticism and Germanic romanticism (up until… perhaps even the Expressionists). But recently, I’m not quite sure if it’s just a similarity between my own idea of romanticism (“idea” is perhaps misleading; I don’t think we can form, logically, an “idea” about something like romanticism) and Germanic romanticism.
Why do I even begin to tear when I read the text of the very last stanza of the first song Gute Nacht from “Winterreise”.
Will dich im Traum nicht stören,
Wär schad’ um deine Ruh’.
Sollst meinen Tritt nicht hören -
Sacht, sacht die Türe zu !
Schreib im Vorübergehen
Ans Tor dir: Gute Nacht,
Damit du mögest sehen,
An dich hab’ ich gedacht.
