[Gutenberg 8961] • Der arme Spielmann

Eine schlichte, stille Geschichte. Grillparzer thematisiert in seiner Rahmennovelle den tragischen Kontrast zwischen universellem Kunstanspruch und tatsächlichem künstlerischem Vermögen. Der prinzipientreue Spielmann Jakob ist von seiner Berufung zum Geiger überzeugt, obwohl sein offensichtlich dilettantisches Spiel beim Publikum keinerlei Anklang findet. In diesem Widerspruch zwischen Unvermögen und leidenschaftlicher Liebe zur Musik spiegelt sich die völlige Entfremdung des Protagonisten von der Gesellschaft, die der Erzähler distanziert, aber auch mitfühlend schildert.

"The Poor Musician" is an autobiographical novella by Austria's famous dramatist and poet Franz Grillparzer (1791-1872): Rounded and compacted, and yet saturated with the sad tragedy of his own isolation it is the most artistic work we have from his pen. For the student of Grillparzer-psychology it is a veritable treasure trove. "The Poor Musician" was the one piece of his creative genius that unflinchingly grappled with the great problem of resignation; the one piece that pictured resignation; but also the one piece that made resignation itself tragic. --- The poor, half-witted fiddler, shipwrecked in life, coddling his woe as the last sweet treasure it has left him, pouring it forth in the midnight solitude of his chamber in music that is music to none but the illusioned player such is resignation.