# Pilgrimage for a Composer



## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Have you ever traveled specifically to visit the home and/or sites that were important to your favorite composer(s)?

I have. I've been very lucky to do this for both Jean Sibelius and Akira Ifukube. I've been able to visit both of their houses (Sibelius's is, of course, a national museum). Also, I have visited northern Japan (Hokkaido) to see various places that were connected to Ifukube including his birth site and where he worked as a forestry officer.

I suppose only the most obsessed among us would travel for similar reasons, but I cannot be the only one...


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

Mahler and Glenn Gould fans are some of the most fanatical. I only have interest if the composer lived/worked in a town or city I'm interested in visiting, which means easy travel. Such was the case for Mozart, and Vienna and Salzburg. In Vienna, our hotel room was adjacent to Mozart's apartment (his second of three, and the only one that exists).


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## Meaghan (Jul 31, 2010)

I haven't _yet,_ but I would love to visit Mahler's composing huts. There is now an RV park right next door to the Steinbach _Häuschen_, but the interior has been restored and Mahler pilgrims pay visits.



















And if I ever do get to make a pilgrimage to Europe, I would very much like to check out this book first:


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## Pieck (Jan 12, 2011)

Here we dont have many attractions, and Im not rich enough to afford trips around europe so unfortunately not.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

It's my lifelong dream to go to St.Petersburg, Russia. I want to see both the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and Glazunov's "nice little mansion," as well as his grave and of many other Russian composers. But I also want to go to Moscow to see Prokofiev's grave. How inconvenient he wasn't buried with the rest of the great Russians in St. Petersburg!  :tiphat:

The last time I visited Finland, I went to the Sibelius Museum in Turku. I also saw the Sibelius Monument in Helsinki. Here's a picture I took myself (view from below):


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Nice picture of the monument, Huilu! When I was in Helsinki, believe it or not, I did not have time to visit the monument. I dod do to Ainola, though, which I would have rather done anyway. Here I am on Sibelius's doorstep.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

When I was in Norway I visited Grieg's home, Troldhaugen.

If you ever visit, walk behind the composing hut onto the rocky peninsula onto the lake. On a warm summer's day there is no more beautiful spot. Grieg must have been inspired by the view.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Damn, I wish and attempted to do it many times but always failed. It's expensive. I hope I will have opportunity to see at least some of those places, cementaries, birthplaces and stuff before my life ends. Och, wait, I once went to Warsaw just to see new Chopin museum. It was something like one year ago but I went there in vain because it turned out that you have to reserve tickets in advance  

Disaster.


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

emiellucifuge said:


> When I was in Norway I visited Grieg's home, Troldhaugen.
> 
> If you ever visit, walk behind the composing hut onto the rocky peninsula onto the lake. On a warm summer's day there is no more beautiful spot. Grieg must have been inspired by the view.


That sure does sound nice!

Sibelius's Ainola is near Lake Tuusula. Tuusula is probably about a mile from the structure, but it can be seen from the garden. Sibelius's home is surrounded, however, by some very thick forest, which I found to be very inspiring. There are paths that you can walk, and these are paths that the master himself used to use. It's a beautiful place!


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

The settings definitely match the music. Sibelius' forest must be perfect in the winter, blanketed in snow.


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

In september we plan to visit Hukvaldy (Moravia, Czech Republic) the birthplace of Leoš Janáček.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Tapkaara said:


> That sure does sound nice!
> 
> Sibelius's Ainola is near Lake Tuusula. Tuusula is probably about a mile from the structure, but it can be seen from the garden. Sibelius's home is surrounded, however, by some very thick forest, which I found to be very inspiring. There are paths that you can walk, and these are paths that the master himself used to use. It's a beautiful place!
> 
> View attachment 2024


I love Finland. Seeing that picture just reminds me of how beautiful it is in the summer there (that's when I've been there several times). The Winter's a whole other story  but still, Finland is a dear place to me. I love the lakes, the birch and fir trees, and the sea!


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

Huilunsoittaja said:


> I love Finland. Seeing that picture just reminds me of how beautiful it is in the summer there (that's when I've been there several times). The Winter's a whole other story  but still, Finland is a dear place to me. I love the lakes, the birch and fir trees, and the sea!


What about the mosquitos :devil: ?


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

TxllxT said:


> What about the mosquitos :devil: ?


Yeah those... haha! The gnats too. One night in Finland, around dusk, I heard the loudest swarm of gnats in the forest I've ever heard! I tried to record it with a device, but it was still too soft.





Sibelius depicting those mosquitos.


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## notesetter (Mar 31, 2011)

In northeastern Iowa (US), there is a tiny Czech immigrant settlement named Spillville. It was here that Dvorak spent his summers during his 2 year stay in America. Driving through town, one gets the feeling it hasn't changed all that much in the last 115 years. At the edge of town, on a small hill, stands St. Wenceslas church, where the composer was allowed to stop by and play the organ. There is a small exhibit which includes correspondence, momentos and the "Dvorak Clock", a clock in the shape of a 'cello, made by local clockmakers Frank and Joseph Bily.


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

Malvern, where there are many Elgar connections, has become one of my most-loved places over the years. I don't make a great point of checking out every location with Elgarian significance, but I've spent so much time there that I've ended up visiting quite a few of them. I find the general atmosphere of the Malvern Hills is the most important; when walking, it's not difficult to remember his comment about music being in the air all around, and all one had to do was help oneself. But here are a few specific places of pilgrimage. First, the British Camp on the Malvern Hills - which inspired the composing of _Caractacus_:










Then there's Elgar's Birthplace, a little cottage that is now the site of the Elgar Birthplace Museum. Elgar himself used to visit here in his adult years, even though he only lived here for a short time as a very young child. He was enormously fond of it:










This is Birchwood Lodge, a few miles to the north of the Malvern Hills, which he rented for some years as a woodland retreat. He wrote parts of _Caractacus_ and _The Dream of Gerontius_ here:










But as I said, it's the hills themselves that are most redolent of Elgar. It seems sometimes that one can hear the _Introduction and Allegro for Strings_ and parts of the _Enigma Variations_ in the wind itself, up there. This is a view of the hills looking northward from the top of the British Camp:


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## Romantic Geek (Dec 25, 2009)

While I haven't visited any...

I'm lucky enough to live within 1 hour of two of my favorite composers (Edward MacDowell and Amy Beach) and 3 hours from Ives' house. Since my family is still around those parts, I plan on visiting. I'm considering making MacDowell or Beach a topic in my Ph.D dissertation on theory, and if that's the case, I will most definitely be visiting the MacDowell compound in Peterborough, NH or the Beach house (I understand that some of her original documents are at the local library...)

I'm excited


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Excellent post, Elgarian. It must be very spiritual for you to go to these places so important to Elgar. And Romantic Geek, if you live within 1 hour of these places, I take it you have visited before?


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

notesetter said:


> In northeastern Iowa (US), there is a tiny Czech immigrant settlement named Spillville. It was here that Dvorak spent his summers during his 2 year stay in America. Driving through town, one gets the feeling it hasn't changed all that much in the last 115 years. At the edge of town, on a small hill, stands St. Wenceslas church, where the composer was allowed to stop by and play the organ. There is a small exhibit which includes correspondence, momentos and the "Dvorak Clock", a clock in the shape of a 'cello, made by local clockmakers Frank and Joseph Bily.


Photos please!


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## GraemeG (Jun 30, 2009)

I took that same photo of the Sibelius monument 20 years ago! When the wind is blowing and you stick your head inside the bigger pipes, there are wonderful sounds to be had.
When I was in Helsinki we planned to get to Sibelius' house, but being the second week of October, the house had closed at the end of September. We made do with a visit to the museum at Turku instead.

I've been to Wagner's in Bayreuth (Wahnfried) and Liszt's in Weimar (didn't he live well!).
Birthplaces visited include Bach's in Eisenach (now a museum), Beethoven's in Bonn and Mozart's in Salzburg.
And I've visited the graves of Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, J Strauss, Wagner, Liszt, Bach, Handel, Dvorak, Smetana...
cheers,
GG


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

GraemeG said:


> I took that same photo of the Sibelius monument 20 years ago! When the wind is blowing and you stick your head inside the bigger pipes, there are wonderful sounds to be had.
> When I was in Helsinki we planned to get to Sibelius' house, but being the second week of October, the house had closed at the end of September. We made do with a visit to the museum at Turku instead.
> 
> I've been to Wagner's in Bayreuth (Wahnfried) and Liszt's in Weimar (didn't he live well!).
> ...


Wow, you really have done quite a bit of "composer travel." Have any photos?


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## Romantic Geek (Dec 25, 2009)

Tapkaara said:


> Excellent post, Elgarian. It must be very spiritual for you to go to these places so important to Elgar. And Romantic Geek, if you live within 1 hour of these places, I take it you have visited before?


I have not only because I've been away at school and otherwise busy. I will make my pilgrimage. It's bound to happen soon.


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Romantic Geek said:


> I have not only because I've been away at school and otherwise busy. I will make my pilgrimage. It's bound to happen soon.


When it happens, I for one will want to hear about it...and see photos!


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

GraemeG said:


> And I've visited the graves of Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, J Strauss, Wagner, Liszt, Bach, Handel, Dvorak, Smetana...


Has anyone ever noticed how seemingly well-suited Schoenberg's grave is to pissing on?










Not that _I_ would ever do such a thing...


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Oh yes I also went to Saeverud's home in Norway.

Its a beautiful wooden building in a beautiful public park, idyllic!















- Siljustol


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## Romantic Geek (Dec 25, 2009)

I might try to visit one this summer, though I'm busy. But I'll promise to do so!


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## jaimsilva (Jun 1, 2011)

Mozart's birth house in Salzburg:










Beethoven's birth house in Bonn:










Sibelius monument in Helsinki:










Janacek monument in Brno his birth town:


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Couchie said:


> Has anyone ever noticed how seemingly well-suited Schoenberg's grave is to pissing on?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Personally, I think the Schönberg grave is very well-suited. It's ugly.


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

Tapkaara said:


> Personally, I think the Schönberg grave is very well-suited. It's ugly.


I was thinking how austerely beautiful it was. It ought to seem precarious, balanced like that; yet it doesn't. It feels stable, yet 'poised'.

It's that 'eye of the beholder' thing again.


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Elgarian said:


> I was thinking how austerely beautiful it was. It ought to seem precarious, balanced like that; yet it doesn't. It feels stable, yet 'poised'.
> 
> It's that 'eye of the beholder' thing again.


Indeed. I see it as awkward and obtuse.


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

Tapkaara said:


> Indeed. I see it as awkward and obtuse.


Of course one can't engage with sculpture properly from a photo. One needs to walk around it, see how it interacts with the space that encloses or surrounds it. For instance, this photo gives an interestingly different perspective:










In this view the curvature of the surfaces and edges is more in evidence - as if the whole thing were conceived as a portion of a giant dome structure - as if it were _part_ of something (the implied remainder being unseen), as well as being a 'something' itself.

The more I look, the more interesting it seems in fact. There's this dynamic balance that it has because of its unusual orientation, and then there's this curious way in which it implies an imagined extension beyond the space it occupies. I'd rather like to encounter this object in person, actually! I wonder what Schoenberg would have thought of it?


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## Tapkaara (Apr 18, 2006)

Elgarian said:


> Of course one can't engage with sculpture properly from a photo. One needs to walk around it, see how it interacts with the space that encloses or surrounds it. For instance, this photo gives an interestingly different perspective:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Actually, it a very good description you provide. I am still not crazy about it, but you sure make a persuasive argument for its mertis.


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

One of the tricks I use to get over certain mental or perceptive obstacles when I'm confronted with any unfamiliar abstract art is _not_ to ask myself 'Is this beautiful or ugly?'; or 'Do I like this?' or 'What does this mean?' - those kind of questions get in the way and stop me actually looking with the necessary 'innocent eye'. The key (of course I can speak only for myself) is to try to find some way of _keeping my attention on the work_, rather than on my thoughts _about_ the work. With sculpture this can be relatively easy to do because I can go for a walk around it (as here) and see how it changes in relation to its surroundings, how the light falls on it, and so on. The aim is to keep my attention on the object _for as long as possible_, because the longer I look with full attention, the more familiar the work becomes, and the greater the chance of a perceptive breakthrough. (Or _not_, of course! There's always the risk that nothing will happen, and my time will seem to have been effectively wasted. But that's part of the game, even though sometimes I get cross about it!)


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## Meaghan (Jul 31, 2010)

^^This is what I try to do with "unfamiliar or abstract" music, and sometimes I end up liking things I would not have expected to like. The joys of paying attention.


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## GraemeG (Jun 30, 2009)

Tapkaara said:


> Wow, you really have done quite a bit of "composer travel." Have any photos?


Yes, but not in 'computerable' form. (Albums on the shelf - this was 1989 after all.)
But they're standard tourist-type snaps - I'm sure googling the subjects would bring up pretty much what I took.
cheers,
GG


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

I always wanted to go to France and visit Ravel's home Le Belvedere in Monfort l'Amaury, just to be able to stand in his music room and be in the same place where he wrote his music from 1921 onwards. It's now a National Museum. http://www.maurice-ravel.net/belved.htm At least I've got pictures.

Another place I would like to visit is Aaron Copland's home, Rock Hill. It on the National Registry of Historic Places. I don't think it's open for tours, though.


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## GGluek (Dec 11, 2011)

On a trip across the country in my youth, I too detoured through Spillville, Iowa. Visited St. Wenceslaus Church (very beautiful), had lunch at a diner in the village, saw a plaque on the brick Bily Bros. Clock factory house that read "Antonin Dvorak, the great composer, lived here in the summer of (1892?).". Visited a clock museum across the street. lovely little farming community with a Czech character.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Have been visiting a good deal of composer´s museums through the years:

Elgar´s Birthplace, Lower Broadheath, Worcester (long ago)
*Bartok Museum*, Budapest (long ago)
Liszt Museum, Budapest (long ago)
Smetana Museum, Prague
*Jaroslav Jezek apartment*, Prague
Dvorak Museum, Prague
*Martinu Museum*, Policka, Czechia
Smetana Museum, Litomerice, Czechia
*Szymanowski Museum*, Zakopane, Poland
Mykola Lysenko Museum, Kiev
Stanislav Lyudkevich Museum, Lviv, Ukraine
*Manuel de Falla Museum*, Granada
*Ravel Museum*, Montfort l´Amaury, south of Paris
*Grieg, Troldhaugen*, Bergen
*Ole Bull, Lysøen*, Bergen
*Fartein Valen Museum*, Valevåg, Norway

_Seen from outside only:_
Carl Nielsens Barndomshjem, Nørre Lyndelse, Odense
Brahms Museum, Hamburg
Harald Sæverud, Siljestøl, Bergen

_Also:_
*Langgaard´s Beach Composer Hut*, Arild, Kullaberg, Sweden
*Krushelnytska Museum*, Lviv
*Vysehrad cemetery*, Prague
*Lychakiv cemetery*, Lviv
*Søllerød Kro and Museum*, North of Copenhagen, where Grieg composed his piano concerto

I have highlighted those that were particularly atmospheric, spectacular or memorable, also from a non-musical view. Am hoping to visit a lot more too. 
Travelling inside Europe can be done quite inexpensively, if one plans for it.


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## HaydnBearstheClock (Jul 6, 2013)

If I'd go on a pilgrimage, Haydn would be the first trip. Never been to Rohrau yet but it would be great to see it. Esterháza and Eisenstadt would be interesting too.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Yeah. Haydn, but Beethoven too. I heard the stream that inspired the second movement of the Pastoral Symphony is a disappointing little trickle!


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## HaydnBearstheClock (Jul 6, 2013)

hpowders said:


> Yeah. Haydn, but Beethoven too. I heard the stream that inspired the second movement of the Pastoral Symphony is a disappointing little trickle!


I guess it's one of the factors that make composers great - being able to see beauty in little things and using this beauty to its fullest effect.


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