This is an irregular diary of sorts . . . moving forward in time, but full of memories. Some thoughts bubbling up from the depths. Some thoughts that have never been far from the surface.
Am I a pack rat, a historian, or an archivist? Hard to tell. I have accumulated thousands of documents over the years, and I am currently reviewing everything. Each day brings discoveries, as well as an array of emotions. Letters, manuscripts, datebooks, programs, autographs, photos, recordings, etc. Stay tuned to see what surfaces over time.
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September 2024 – Comments regarding my time in Mittersill
kofomi #28-2024
ARGE Komponistenforum Mittersill
Sorge
14. – 21. 9. 2024
Mittersill, Austria
Part I
Friday, September 13, 2024 – After my overnight flight from the USA, I arrived in Munich and traveled to Zell am See by train for an evening of rest prior to my onward journey to Mittersill. My arrival coincided with the arrival of “Storm Boris” which brought torrential rain, unusually cold temperatures, snow, fog, and serious flooding to Central Europe. The weather was particularly severe in eastern Austria, and I felt fortunate that it did not adversely impact my travel plans.
Saturday, September 14, 2024 – The train from Zell am See to Mittersill took less than an hour, and I arrived just in time to have lunch with my old friend Wolfgang Seierl (Founder and Director of kofomi); his wife, pianist Veronika Humpel; their daughter; and kofomi Co-Director Martin Daske.
Wolfgang, an extraordinarily accomplished composer, guitarist, visual artist and arts organizer, and I first met in Vienna during the fall of 2009. As the then Artistic and Executive Director of Wintergreen Performing Arts, I invited Wolfgang to be a part of the 2010 Wintergreen Summer Music Festival and Academy in Wintergreen, Virginia. The theme that summer was Vienna 2010. It was a month-long celebration consisting of 300 events and programs. Guests artists included poet Rita Dove, tenor Paul Sperry, Professor Barbara Zeisl Schönberg (daughter of Austrian composer Erich Zeisl), her husband, Judge Ronald Schönberg (son of Austrian composer Arnold Schönberg), and numerous other guest artists. I thought readers would find it interesting to see the depth and breadth of our tribute to Vienna. A searchable PDF of the 2010 WSMF program book can be found here:
My fellow artists continued to arrive in Mittersill despite additional weather-related delays. On Saturday evening, we had our first event consisting of two films and a keynote speech from author Bojana Kunst. Unfortunately, Ms. Kunst was unable to travel to Austria from her home in Slovenia due to the storm, but she joined us via Zoom.
The following are two MeinBezirk.at (an Austrian website) summaries of the Forum’s opening events: Summary I (Saturday, September 14) and Summary II (September 14-17). Both summaries should be translatable using your browser.
I appreciated meeting everyone, and I had a sense that our time together was going to be both productive and enjoyable.
Part II
Sunday, September 15, 2024 – The 79th Anniversary of Anton Webern’s death.
The story of Webern’s death has been of interest to me since my student days. The fact that an American soldier from North Carolina had fired the fatal shots four months after the end of hostilities in Europe made the untimely death even more tragic. The events leading up to the shooting can be found in Chapters 34, 35, and 36 of Hans Moldenhauer’s comprehensive biography, Anton von Webern: A Chronicle of his Life and Work. Perhaps there are other resources on the topic, but this is a book that has been a part of my personal library for years. It was written in collaboration with his wife, Rosaleen Moldenhauer. I would also encourage everyone to read the final chapter (Epilogue . . . Wilhelmine–Renaissance).
In the first letter that Wolfgang Seierl and Martin Draske wrote to this year’s artists, they included the following:
“Die Absicht des kofomi ist, Kommunikation herzustellen und Austausch zu
ermöglichen, einerseits unter den Teilnehmenden und andererseits zwischen
diesen und dem allfälligen Publikum. Eine weitere Idee ist, dass dort, wo Anton
Webern gestorben ist, Neues entsteht, eine Art lebendiges Denkmal.”
“The intention of kofomi is to establish communication and facilitate exchange,
on the one hand among the participants and on the other between them and
any audience. Another idea is to create something new where Anton Webern
died, a kind of living memorial.”
The “living memorial” concept caught my attention, and I wanted to better understand what had transpired in Mittersill back in 1945
I was grateful that three of my poems were included on the memorial program, and I was pleased to work with everyone on the planned improvisation that ended the concert. The melodic and harmonic materials were derived from a 12-tone row that is thought to be Webern’s final creation.
Poems by Larry Alan Smith
(included on the kofomi #28 concert in Mittersill, Austria on September 15, 2024)
The poems were written in English.
The apples are ripe
The apples are ripe.
It is time.
Don’t lose control.
Don’t allow unexpected circumstances
To affect the harvest.
Nature’s perfection is fleeting.
Overnight, what had promise and hope
Might be replaced by a sudden sadness.
The cycle is nearly complete.
Remove the fruit while there is still time,
Still color,
Still life.
Gather the bounty now.
Tonight . . .
Tomorrow . . .
If you wait,
It may be too late.
There is always the possibility
Of abrupt, unwanted outcomes,
Interrupting all that was beautiful.
It was not supposed to end like this.
© Larry Alan Smith
Written in Mittersill, Austria on September 15, 2024
*******
“Ich wurde erschossen”
“Ich wurde erschossen.”*
(silence)
“Es ist aus.”**
(long silence)
And with these words,
Already shattered lives
Were plunged into an even deeper despair.
Suddenly . . .
There was the loss of a partner,
The loss of a father and grandfather,
And the loss of an artist
Who was on the verge of moving from the darkness
Into the light
Of a long-awaited
European sunrise.
Dawn now diminished.
Daybreak now delayed.
The cock still crowing,
But with an inconsolable sadness.
An obliterated world,
A voice prematurely silenced.
* = Webern’s penultimate sentence: “I was shot.”
** = Webern’s final sentence: “It is over.”
© Larry Alan Smith
Written in Washington, DC, USA on September 12, 2024.
*******
An Autumn rose
An autumn rose,
Pink with two unopened buds,
Surrounded by other plants.
Dying, drying.
Soon this last gasp of summer
Will fade away
Unable to avoid the inevitable.
Frost,
Then snow
Will cover the wind-swept,
Withered
Rose petals,
Forming an elegant burial gown.
Sleep well
In peace.
Your autumnal radiance
Will never be forgotten.
© Larry Alan Smith
Written in Château-d’Oex, Switzerland on October 17, 2023.
*******
Following the memorial concert, we attended a showing of Gert Jonke’s 1986 film, Geblendeter Augenblick – Anton Weberns Tod (Blinded moment – Anton Webern’s death)
*******
Part III
Monday, September 16, 2024 – Four of us were asked to give presentations regarding our work on Monday evening. My presentation included the second and third movements of my Symphony No. 4 (2016), four songs from Epigrams (2015) for soprano and piano, two excerpts from a new theatre piece that will include acousmatic music recorded in a winery, a movement from Ozone (2011) for dancers, narrator, soprano, flute, and cello, and the final movement of Epistulae ex Ponto (2017), for soprano and orchestra.
Walking down into the town to start the new week. On the left is St. Anna Church where Sunday evening’s concert took place. Webern is buried behind the church (St. Leonhard) that appears on the right in the center.
Tuesday, September 17, 2024 – The evening began with an opportunity to ask author Bojana Kunst questions about aspects of her Saturday evening speech, and it concluded with more presentations from the resident artists.
During the day on Tuesday, we went to the town square in order to prepare for Wednesday’s afternoon concert.
Part IV
Wednesday, September 18, 2024 – An outdoor concert was held in the town square at 3 pm. The program began with a performance of my acousmatic work, Una donna, un uomo ed alcune pecore (2017) – In English: A woman, a man and some sheep. The work is in four movements, but Wolfgang Seierl (electric guitar) and I (keyboard) added some improvisations to the third and fourth movements. That was followed by moving around the square and reading short quotes from Saturday’s keynote by Bojana Kunst in German and English using megaphones. To complete the concert, Ming Wang (guzheng) and Susanna Gartmayer (bass clarinet) improvised a final work for the afternoon.
Thursday, September 19, 2024 – Ming Wang had been working with local high school students on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and at 11 am on Thursday, they offered a spirited concert of rhythm and movement for us and for students in their school.
For me, the Thursday evening performance was a true highlight. It ended up being a two-hour group improvisation that started about an hour before the audience arrived and continued until the piece came to an end. The performance was held in a beautiful museum, and I felt that we reached new levels of musical understanding and communication through our joint efforts.
Part V
Friday, September 20, 2024 – In addition to working on a new planned improvisation for the final concert, I used some of my day to complete my exploration of the Anton Webern Weg Mittersill. At each location, there is a sign with a QR-Code that enables visitors to listen to explanations in both German and English using a cell phone. In addition, there are links to recordings of Anton Webern’s music, as well as links to music by artists who have been involved with kofomi over the years. Everything can be experienced on the website noted above.
The Webern-related places to find and to visit include:
Uhrwerk (WebernClockWork in the town centre)
Graffiti (Graffiti Bill Drummond)
Wohnhaus (Webern’s Residence)
Gedenkstein (Memorial stone for the encounter of Anton Webern and Cesar Bresgen)
Gasse-2 (Place of Death)
St. Anna (Place where Anton Webern’s body was kept)
Grabmal (The Grave of Anton Webern)
Statue (The bust of Anton Webern in Anton Webern Park)
Stube (Anton Webern Stube in Cafe Pletzer with Wolfgang Seierl).
Chocolate cigars are now sold in Cafe Pletzer. What might seem a bit macabre is probably best understood by considering how happy Webern was to finally have his first post-war cigar. Unfortunately, attempting to enjoy the cigar led to his death.
As it turns out, I also had an opportunity to see and briefly play Anton Webern’s piano.
Saturday, September 21, 2024 – The Pension Schachernhof is a beautiful, functioning farm that sits above Mittersill with a panoramic view of the surrounding area. It served as our comfortable home away from home while in Mittersill. It was an idyllic place to create, collaborate, and rehearse. The food was outstanding! On the last full day of the Forum, I was up early…sitting outside and finishing up a piece for the final concert. Suddenly there was a magnificent procession. Here is my attempt to capture the scene as the cows arrived on my right, moved around the building, and departed to my left down the hill.
The final concert included a seven-movement planned improvisation that I wrote for narrator, bass clarinet, and electric guitar. Each movement was introduced with a haiku that reflected on aspects of living in the vicinity of Mittersill.
Australian composer Tamara Friebel and I also co-created a work for the program.
The MeinBezirk.at summary of the Forum’s final events (September 19 and 21) can be found here. The summary should be translatable using your browser.
Epilogue
Sunday, September 22, 2024 – What an honor it was to spend time with this wonderful group of artists during our time in Mittersill! I believe that we will stay in touch, and I am confident that more artistic experiences will take shape in the future.
For me, an opportunity to remember and reflect on the life and work of Anton Webern was extremely meaningful. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be in Mittersill as a kofomi artist, and I want to thank Wolfgang Seierl and Martin Daske for the invitation. The experience has inspired new possibilities, and for a creative artist, that is about as good as it gets.
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November 11, 2023 (Veterans Day) – A datebook entry I made on Saturday, January 27, 1973
My 1973 datebook has the following notation: Signing of Peace Treaty. When I saw it, I couldn’t remember why I had written this. Some online research quickly solved the mystery by pointing out that the cease-fire agreement between the U.S. and North Vietnam was signed that day. As a 17-year-old who had seen friends die in the Vietnam War, it was a historical event of great personal significance. While I had forgotten the actual date, my emotional response to the end of that war will always be a part of me.
From UPI.com:
In 1973, the United States and North Vietnam signed a cease-fire agreement following lengthy Paris talks between U.S. national security adviser Henry Kissinger and Vietnamese negotiator Le Duc Tho. The same day, the United States announced an end to the military draft. Although the U.S.combat mission officially ended in 1973, the Vietnam War would not be over until April of 1975.
UPI File Photo
A related link included the following information:
The United States, North and South Vietnam and the Viet Cong signed the Vietnam peace settlement in a silent ceremony in Paris Saturday and the cease-fire ending the longest war in U.S. history formally took effect on the battle fields of Vietnam at 7 p.m. EST.
The fighting and dying lasted until the last minutes. A Vietnam civilian was killed in a Communist rocket attack on Saigon’s Tan Son Nhut Airport just before peace time.
. . . and on the subject of draft lotteries, inductions, etc.
NUMBERS CHOSEN IN DRAFT LOTTERY
The New York Times – March 21, 1974
WASHINGTON, March 20
The sixth annual draft lottery was held here today determining the order of inductions next year for men born in 1955, in case of a resumption of the draft in a national emergency.
The men’s birthdates, along with 365 “random sequence numbers,” were drawn from two plastic barrels at the Department of Commerce auditorium, where the draft lottery was held the previous four years. In 1969, the drawing was held at Selective Service national headquarters.
Men who received a lottery number above 95 will not be affected by today’s drawing, according to Selective Service officials. Those men who received numbers 1 through 95—about 500,000 of the approximately 2 million men born in 1955—will be reclassified 1‐A by their local draft boards. None of those reclassified will be given physical or mental tests.
The low number group will form a standby pool of “readily inductable” men during 1975. This year’s pool consists of men who received numbers through 95 in last year’s lottery. In case of a national emergency, Selective Service officials estimate that about 250,000 in this most vulnerable pool would be fit “morally, mentally and physically” for military service.
Men born on Feb. 28, 1955, would be the first to be called up; if Congress would restore the President’s authority to begin inductions again.
* * * * * * * *
My October 4, 1955 draft number was 193.
I did not serve in the military, but to those men and women who serve or have served, I want to express my deepest respect for you and my profound gratitude for the sacrifices you have made.
* * * * * * * *
Larry Alan Smith 