# The most popular tragic play among composers



## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Did you ever wonder how many Faust-inspired works do you have in your collection? 

Berlioz, Liszt, Mahler, Rachmaninoff, Gounod. To name few. 

What's the phenomenon between Faust and music? How is it that Goethe got over Shakespeare himself (considering single works, not whole oevure)? Can you think of any work of literature that would inspire so much top-notch music?


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## Guest (Aug 13, 2010)

Romeo & Juliet


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

One of the aspects of course is the often relatively isolated or alienated position of the artist/composer in recent Western society. What is he supposed to do with his specialized expertise knowledge in front of the demands of the "grey mass" of the public and the commercial market, versus his own spiritual and formal aspirations ? How much is he able to influence ? Who has the power ? Social mobility as a fact, political instability and Western religious/transcendental "homelessness" following the crisis of its religion were also factors in creating the psychological fascination of the Faust myth, the man trying to rise above other men, break conventions and reach for the stars ... 
I think there is a large amount of self-portrayal in the interest for this myth, but its relevance can be broadened to a more general philosophical dimension. It is a highly complex myth, where many secondary aspects can be found of course, such as the double-edged sword of gaining knowledge/alienating oneself from nature and biology, and not at least because it also deals with the themes of both unhappy and happy love, revenge, magic, death etc. - all very popular as well ... There are various versions of the original myth which had popular/late Renaissance origins, but many do not have a tragic outcome at all; one is often quite free to choose ...


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## Argus (Oct 16, 2009)

Faust rule 



Aramis said:


> Can you think of any work of literature that would inspire so much top-notch music?


The Bible


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

Aramis said:


> Can you think of any work of literature that would inspire so much top-notch music?


Nice.

I always thought this was a cool topic!-----


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Yes, but not in the classical genre (whatever that is) and many would not consider it top-notch. Tolkein's The Lord of the Rings inspired a couple of decades of pop-rock music.


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