This piece first appeared on Quora.com as an answer to the question, "What does hauntingly beautiful mean?" You want me to explain the idiom, “hauntingly beautiful?” Sure, I’ll do that. I think that the following piece of music does it well enough, even if you only listen to the first few bars — of course, you’ll be sorely tempted to listen to the whole thing after that.
To me, your answer evokes the opening to Beethoven's op 131 quartet.
The way the wispiness of that upbow invites us in. The way the next two aching half notes hold us with a long crescendo. And then, we crash back to reality with a sforzando. Cause at the end of that phrase, we are left ambling until we hear the next.
That to me is hauntingly beautiful, too.
When you talked about asymmetry in art, I couldn't help but agree. I think the best composers knew the balance between showing us the rules of their universe, then breaking them.
Speaking of Brahms, are you familiar with the A minor Clarinet Trio? It also has a similar quality to the cello sonata, but has a somewhat mercurial feel with a sense of propulsion. It gets good at theme 2 of the recapitulation.
To me, your answer evokes the opening to Beethoven's op 131 quartet.
The way the wispiness of that upbow invites us in. The way the next two aching half notes hold us with a long crescendo. And then, we crash back to reality with a sforzando. Cause at the end of that phrase, we are left ambling until we hear the next.
That to me is hauntingly beautiful, too.
When you talked about asymmetry in art, I couldn't help but agree. I think the best composers knew the balance between showing us the rules of their universe, then breaking them.
Speaking of Brahms, are you familiar with the A minor Clarinet Trio? It also has a similar quality to the cello sonata, but has a somewhat mercurial feel with a sense of propulsion. It gets good at theme 2 of the recapitulation.