At 22, fallen in debt, pawning
his watch, he refuses a Versailles post
as organist. He wanders streets, yawning
at offers from Salzburg, suffers the cost
of longing for Aloysia back in
Mannheim where her singer’s rep is growing.
Hearing strings and brass flourish, he begins
his Paris Symphony, now bestowing
for the first time those lilting clarinets.
By June, Count von Sickingen opens his
home for a private performance. Plaudits
flow a week hence at Concert Spirituel’s
premiere. July: He learns his mom’s died. He plots
haunting movements for his darkest sonata.
Roger Armbrust
December 19,
2012
