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A "Last Giant in Music": Thoughts on Max Reger in the Twentieth Century

2004; Oxford University Press; Volume: 87; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1093/musqtl/gdh023

1741-8399

R. Brinkmann,

Musicology and Musical Analysis

Translated by Antonius Bittmann In 1917, a year after the composer’s death, Max Beckmann, then thirty‐three years old, painted a portrait of Max Reger. The oil painting (Fig. 1), which is now in the possession of the Zurich Kunsthaus, exhibits the same, often ruthless sharp depiction of character that is evident in Beckmann’s famous self-portraits.2 A massive, disproportionate body fills the canvas, nearly bursting the frame; an angular head rests lopsidedly on the body; out of the collar, which is obviously too narrow, bulges the fat, fleshy neck; as if combed with water, the hair sticks out above the large forehead. His wrinkles, his thick lips, the strained corners of his mouth, and, above all, his gaze behind the glasses, avoiding the eyes of the viewer, show an artist well aware of his exceedingly problematic existence. The stylish dark suit with vest and golden watch chain—worn only on “special occasions”—appears to be too tight, uncomfortable, and awkward on this uncouth man; the hands, placed on his thighs, and especially the left hand, which protrudes too far out of the sleeve, further reinforce this impression. The portrait shows an artist unable to adapt to his social surroundings, a musician who seems to perceive his upper-middle-class world as unfitting and inappropriate—in his isolation, almost a tragic figure.