Alfred Brendel. (Photo from official website).
My fascination with Beethoven continues. I decided a few days ago to listen to all of Beethoven 32 piano sonatas again, in order. I have made it through #5 so far, so obviously I have a ways to go. I am mostly listening to renditions by Alfred Brendel, but for certain performances I am switching to Sviatoslav Richter and Angela Hewitt. (Richter is my favorite piano player, but he never recorded a set of all of Beethoven's sonatas, a good example of how Richter was a maverick and would not do what he was "supposed" to do.)
Robert Anton Wilson's books are peppered with references to Beethoven. My search of the text of Cosmic Trigger 2 (I also have a paper copy, but a Kindle is useful for searches) shows four references to him. For example, in the "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" chapter, RAW writes, "A movie theatre is the best place to learn the true meaning of Plato's parable of the prisoners in the cave, who accept shadows as reality. Every artist who moves us, from a movie maker to Beethoven or Shakespeare, is a bit of a hypnotist."
I am intrigued by another of the references to Beethoven. In the "Attack of the Dog-Faced Demons" chapter, RAW writes, "In a farm in Mendocino, 1972, I was preparing for the Mass of the Phoenix, a ritual designed by Aleister Crowley in which the magician attempts to activate his "True Will." I had taken 250 micrograms of Acid, played some Beethoven, and, when I felt ready, I went to my makeshift Altar and began the invocation."
Why would RAW play Beethoven as part of his preparation? Does anyone want to comment?
4 comments:
He probably played Beethoven before the ritual to get into a mood resonant with higher consciousness.
Oz, that would with RAW's discussion of Beethoven in the essay, "Beethoven As Information," reprinted in "The Illuminati Papers." RAW writes, "Perhaps some mystics have achieved higher levels of consciousness than Beethoven (perhaps!), but if so, we cannot know of it."
I couldn't recall in which book RAW mentions this episode, it came up in a recent-ish discussion, perhaps during the Lion of Light reading group.
Mixing psychedelics with a magick ritual usually isn't recommended. If this type of practice wasn't uncommon for RAW at the time, I can see how he would soon find himself in Chapel Perilous (note the date, 1972).
Bob Wilson told me about a time he took a metaprogramming substance and spent all night listening to all nine Beethoven symphonies. He took a little more before each new symphony, hearing the ending of the Ninth as the sun came up.
I love Charles Rosen's book "Beethoven's Piano Sonatas: A Short Companion." My favorite recordings of Beethoven's sonatas: Op. 54 - Charles Rosen; Op. 57 - Richter; Op. 106 - Solomon, but I also love Rosen's version paired with Op. 110; Op. 109 - Schnabel and/or Solomon; Op. 110 - Schnabel; and Op. 111 - Solomon, perhaps my favorite recording of any kind of music ever.
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