Similarly, the ashes of the Opera Hall and the market produced another new marvel. Without a symphony to play in, the cellist became the performer in the crater that once was the market. Out of the ashes of his career at the opera appeared a peaceful retaliation of Sarajevo's siege: through music. Donning his tuxedo once more, he became "an instrument of deliverance" (xvii) by commemorating the twenty two people who were killed in the explosion.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Reborn From the Ashes
In The Cellist of Sarajevo, one of the main characters, the cellist, witnesses his musical dreams, as well as his neighborhood, disintegrate into ash as the Opera Hall and his market are targeted with mortars. In a comparable occasion, the Dresden Music Library was bombed in WWII, leaving shreds of Albinoni's masterpiece that once was. However, another musician used these pieces to produce a new musical piece, although nothing like the original; nevertheless, remnants from the ashes gave birth to a beautiful new innovation.
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I find it interesting that you consider his playing a "peaceful retaliation". This brings me back to the conversation we had in class today about art and its function during times of hardship. In many cases, art is used to express emotions and is also often a cathartic experience. In the Cellist of Sarajevo, it is evident that art not only allows the cellist to express his feelings on the siege, but also allows him to rebel against it without directly attacking it. I think art is extremely important in this moment of the book because there is no one around that the cellist can express his opinions to, and even by telling someone nothing would be changed. However, with art, the cellist is able to become a part of another world that separates him from his present and erases the men in the hills and the constant killing that is occurring all around him.
ReplyDeleteYour post and Vivian's response make me think of the orgasnic and cyclical quality of art. It often emerges from pain or suffering -- of the artist or of others -- and can be redemptive (MAUS, maybe?, and many other works). It's a gift to be able to transmute pain into beauty. Keats comes to mind again and again: "Beauty is truth, truth beauty. That is all ye know on earth and all ye need to know."
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