Since things are pretty quiet here on the Pathetiqueblog - and Dr. Chapman said he was looking forward to reading our blogs - I thought I’d reveal …well, it’s really no secret (you’ve probably seen my videos) … you see, when I hear music, and when I study music, I visualize it. I see images. And then the images meld together and become a storyline. It’s something I’ve done since I was a child - a child of the 50s, heavily influenced by Disney’s dancing skeletons, Pluto playing trombone, Bugs Bunny singing opera. So roughly, here’s my storyline for the Pathetique: set in Europe, Beethoven’s lifetime: plague has broken out, people are terrified, hiding in their homes. They hear the undertaker’s cart stopping on the street where bodies have been unceremoniously thrown out from their neighbors house. A couple nervously watch from inside their house, trying to figure out what they should do. They remember a haven in the country that they could go to, and set about collecting things to take, while grieving the life they are losing. With one final glance back, they flee. The 2nd movement: they are peacefully, gratefully settling into their sanctuary in the country. The wife frets about loved ones left behind, but the husband reassures his wife that they’ve done the right thing, and he’s sure their loved ones have also taken refuge. 3rd movement: a message comes, and the concerns of the wife are realized. Pleas for help destroy their happiness. They sort through different ideas of how they can lend assistance, none are good, all jeopardize their own safety. They play out different possibilities - maybe this, maybe that? Finally, they come to the decision: they must go. So, was Beethoven laying out the premise for an opera? Is there another sonata that formulated “Fidelio”? I realize that at least certain composers objected to their compositions having programs ascribed to them…but…I think the compositional process must relate to the composer’s current paradigm somehow. Carol Wazlavek