CHOPIN

Nicht sehr ergiebig im Gespräch,
Ansichten waren nicht seine Stärke,
Ansichten reden drum herum,
wenn Delacroix Theorien entwickelte,
wurde er unruhig, er seinerseits konnte
die Notturnos nicht begründen.
Schwacher Liebhaber;
Schatten in Nohant,
wo George Sands Kinder
keine erzieherischen Ratschläge
von ihm annahmen.
Brustkrank in jener Form
mit Blutungen und Narbenbildung,
die sich lange hinzieht;
stiller Tod
im Gegensatz zu einem
mit Schmerzparoxysmen
oder durch Gewehrsalven:
Man rückte den Flügel (Erard) an die Tür
und Delphine Potocka
sang ihm in der letzten Stunde
ein Veilchenlied.
Nach England reiste er mit drei Flügeln:
Pleyel, Erard, Broadwood,
spielte für zwanzig Guineen abends
eine Viertelstunde
bei Rothschilds, Wellingtons, im Strafford House
und vor zahlreichen Hosenbändern;
verdunkelt von Müdigkeit und Todesnähe
kehrte er heim
auf den Square d'Orleans.
Dann verbrennt er seine Skizzen
und Manuskripte,
nur keine Restbestände, Fragmente, Notizen,
diese verräterischen Einblicke -
sagte zum Schluß:
"Meine Versuche sind nach Maßgabe dessen vollendet,
was mir zu erreichen möglich war."
Spielen sollte jeder Finger
mit der seinem Bau entsprechenden Kraft,
der vierte ist der schwächste
(nur siamesisch zum Mittelfinger).
Wenn er begann, lagen sie
auf e, fis, gis, h, c.
Wer je bestimmte Präludien
von ihm hörte,
sei es in Landhäusern oder
in einem Höhengelände
oder aus offenen Terrassentüren
beispielsweise aus einem Sanatorium,
wird es schwer vergessen.
Nie eine Oper komponiert,
keine Symphonie,
nur diese tragischen Progressionen
aus artistischer Überzeugung
und mit einer kleinen Hand.

non molto fecondo nella conversazione ­ i pareri non erano il suo forte,
opinions talk "about" things ...
when Delacroix concocted yet another theory
he became restless; as for him
he couldn't tell the reason for his nocturnes.
in bed not a stallion;
pallida ombra a Nohant,
ove i figli di George Sand
preferred to ignore
his pedagogic advice.
ill in the chest by way
of bloody discharge and developing scars,
which drags on a long time;
but it is a quiet death
if compared to one
in agony
or in front of a shooting squad.
they pulled up to the door the piano (Erard)
and in his last hour
Delphine Potocka sang to him
a forget-me-not-song.
to England he travelled with three pianos:
Pleyel, Erard, Broadwood,
played for 20 guineas the evening
or for fifteen minutes
at the Rothschilds, Wellingtons, at Staffordshire Manor
in front of countless orders of the garter.
clouded by fatigue and mortality
ritornava
nello Square d'Orleans.
then he burned all his sketch-books
and manuscripts.
no leftovers, fragments, notes
those treacherous insights;
his last words:
"my attempts are satisfactory, given the limits
for what I was able to achieve."
every finger had to be employed
according to its anatomical strength,
the fourth being the weakest
(il medio è solo fratello siamese dell'indice.)
when he commenced performance, his fingers rested
on e, f-sharp, g-sharp, h, c.
who ever has heard certain
preludes of him
will hardly forget it:
be it in manor houses or
carried over the hills,
or through open terrace-doors,
for instance at a sanatorium.
mai compose un'Opera,
nessuna Sinfonia,
solo queste tragiche progressioni,
con convinzione artistica
e con mano piccola.
by Gottfried Benn (1886­1956)

not exactly profound in his conversation ­
opinions were not his strong points,
opinions talk "about" things ...
when Delacroix concocted yet another theory
he became restless; as for him
he couldn't tell the reason for his nocturnes.

in bed not a stallion;
a mere shade in Nohant,
where George Sand's children
preferred to ignore
his pedagogic advice.

ill in the chest by way
of bloody discharge and developing scars,
which drags on a long time;
but it is a quiet death
if compared to one
in agony
or in front of a shooting squad.
they pulled up to the door the piano (Erard)
and in his last hour
Delphine Potocka sang to him
a forget-me-not-song.

to England he travelled with three pianos:
Pleyel, Erard, Broadwood,
played for 20 guineas the evening
or for fifteen minutes
at the Rothschilds, Wellingtons, at Staffordshire Manor
in front of countless orders of the garter.
clouded by fatigue and mortality
he returned
to the Square d'Orleans.

then he burned all his sketch-books
and manuscripts.
no leftovers, fragments, notes
those treacherous insights;
his last words:
"my attempts are satisfactory, given the limits
for what I was able to achieve."

every finger had to be employed
according to its anatomical strength,
the fourth being the weakest
(just the Siamese companion to the third.)
when he commenced performance, his fingers rested
on e, f-sharp, g-sharp, h, c.

who ever has heard certain
preludes of him
will hardly forget it:
be it in manor houses or
carried over the hills,
or through open terrace-doors,
for instance at a sanatorium.
never composed an Opera,
never a symphony,
only these tragic obsessions,
out of an artistic conviction
and with a small hand.

by Gottfried Benn (1886­1956)