Beethoven e Mendelssohn nel pensiero di Adolf Bernhard Marx

Adolf Bernhard Marx (Halle, 1795 – Berlin, 1866) was a musicologist, music theorist and critic, known particularly to have codified and labeled the Sonata-form. In his first years of activity as critic he publicized a particular theory of the musical meaning from the pages of the Berliner allgemeine musikalische Zeitung. From 1824, year of the foundation, to 1826 some meaningful articles appeared: particularly interesting ‘Etwas über die Symphonie und Beethoven Leistungen in diesem Fache’ (On the Symphony and on the contribution of Beethoven to this musical genre), published in more parts in 1824, and ‘Über das Verhältniss der Form zum Inhalte in der neueren Musik’ (On the relationship between form and content in the new music), similarly appeared in more resumptions in the 1826. The Beethoven’s compositions are central in the critic reflections: Marx examines «the series of psychological situations» represented «with great accuracy» in the Fifth Symphony or the extra-musical Grundidee that informs the composition; he then considers the relationship between form and extra-musical elements in the Pastoral Symphony and the psychological development in the T hird Symphony. In a further article, of 1826, he prepares the public to the correct fruition of the Ninth Symphony, that very soon would have been performed in Berlin. Nevertheless, it is in the pamphlet Über den Malerei in der Tonkunst (On the musical painting), of 1828, that Marx accomplishedly delineates his own theory of the music meaning, inserting in the contemporary philosophical debate around the possibility of the music to represent or not extra-musical elements. The case of study, in the pamphlet, is the overture Meerestille und Glückliche Fahrt by Felix Mendelssohn, that Marx shows as example of perfection in to set the fundamental extra-musical idea without the aid of a text. In Marx’ opinion, Beethoven would have failed in the same intent putting in music the Goethe’s verses in the homonym Cantata for choir and orchestra (review appeared in November of the 1824). In this paper I will try to delineate in general the Marx’ theory and to analyze the two compositions inspired by the famous couple of Goethe’s poems, by Beethoven and Mendelssohn, according to the Marx’ evaluation and the judgment of the contemporaries.