The event was held in the sold-out Orpheum Theatre of Vancouver (holding roughly 3000 people.) Normally, the Orpheum is where I attend Vancouver Symphony Orchestra concerts. Nonetheless, it is fitting that Dr. Wiesel presented here because music has played a huge role in his life. He did, after all, study the violin. The book Night even includes a passage about a violin being played during a death march.
"I was thinking of this when I heard the sound of a violin. The sound of a violin, in this dark shed, where the dead were heaped on the living. What madman could be playing the violin here, at the brink of his own grave? Or was it really an hallucination"
Clearly, music played such a fundamental part in the author's life that it was included in this book as well. The first topic that Dr. Wiesel discussed with the moderator was, in fact, music.
He recounted warm and humorous tales of his childhood learning the violin. Dr. Wiesel revealed that when he writes, he writes to quartets or quintets. Symphonies are far too distracting, he claimed. The intimate nature of the string quartet also lends itself perfectly to the art of writing.
Wiesel explained why he writes. His philosophy is the following: "Remember, for there is, there must be, hope in remembering." It took Wiesel 10 years after the Holocaust had ended to break his vow of silence. He realised, however, that what would he be without his memory? We are, after all, what we remember. Dr. Wiesel had horrific memories from his experience in the death camps but knew that he was ultimately responsible for what he did with those memories. What would he do with that memory that would improve the condition of the world in which we live? As he explained, "If I don't remember, I disappear. At the end, you'll forget yourself."
Dr. Wiesel discussed that his task as a writer was to honour the memory of Holocaust survivors, "to collect their tears, collect them into a story so that their tears become a testimony." The courage that it must take to write and craft an art from such darkness is difficult to imagine. Admittedly, Dr. Wiesel is a deeply religious man and ascribes a great deal of his strength to his Jewish faith.
I am almost certain that Dr. Wiesel enjoys the Beethoven string quartets so that is the music that I have chosen to accompany this entry. In fact, a family that had attended this event, took the same bus as me and we entered into a great discussion about what music might be playing as Dr. Wiesel writes. (Apparently, he wakes up at 5 am to write four hours of fiction each day.) I have selected three slow movements from the string quartets that I feel best represent what I learned this evening. The three selections are from each of Beethoven's three compositional periods: the early, middle, and late periods.
The first selection is from opus 18, no. 1. This is perhaps some of the most unrelentingly sad music that Beethoven composed. This second movement is a stark contrast from the bright, hopeful first movement that precedes it. It begins with a sorrowful melody but does seem to visit a happier, more nostalgic time in Beethoven's life and some lighter passages are played. Nonetheless, Beethoven does not let the listener linger for too long in those sweet remembrances. There is never any doubt as to the movement’s ultimate message. This piece conveys a deep pain that is simply part of the human condition. I still maintain that this is the most profound writing of his early compositional period.
The second selection is from opus 59, no. 2. This slow movement from the well-known e minor quartet is deeply reflective and has a sense of peace. The thick texture created by sustained notes adds emotional depth to this sublime movement of quartet literature. This is Beethoven at his most sensitive. The violin often gets melodic passages which allude to sweet memories of youth.
The third selection is the stunning third movement from opus 135. The String Quartet in F, opus 135, was the last complete work Beethoven composed, only a few months before his death in March 1827. It is the work of a composer who seems to have suddenly attained some new, simple truth after miles of struggle. The third movement resembles a whispered prayer in the dark. It is a movement that
overflows with forgiveness and love, but is also full of great sadness.
These movements from the Beethoven quartets are glimpses into the human condition at various points. Each of them strongly evokes a sense of memory and nostalgia. Both Beethoven and Wiesel had the courage to present an aspect of humanity that is dark but is in fact - very real. If one were to ignore the sadness, does that do honour to one's memories and experiences? Wiesel would likely argue not.
Music serves as a powerful connection to many of my most precious memories. The more I experience in this life, the more meaningful each piece of music becomes. I hear more in the notes that the composers have written. I am increasingly grateful for this new understanding that only comes with experience and age. Truthfully, I can not imagine the anguish that Dr. Wiesel must experience when listening to certain compositions, but I was completely inspired by how he has decided to turn the atrocities he witnessed into an art form that encourages the world to think critically about prejudice, racism, and hatred. Through his books, Wiesel is pushing our society toward critical thinking about how we will remember the past in order to improve the future. One can not help but be in awe of how he turned such an incredibly negative situation into a beautiful artistic expression through his novels. The struggles and sadnesses that Beethoven endured in his life find that same expression in the string quartet movements that I have selected. They are a testament that it is acceptable to grieve, remember, and to remember with intention so that the future is improved.
Life is not made of years. Life is made of moments. At the end its the sum of moments that makes our weight." - Elie Wiesel (September 10, 2012 - Vancouver, BC)
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