Beethoven vs. Klimt: Golden armor of defiance!
Vienna, on March 9, 2026
Klimt! You strange painter! I stand before your wall and hear you whisper through the splendor: "See the knight, Ludwig, he is your image!" – Ha! I answer you: He is too pure for me! He stares into the abyss, yes, but his armor shines like a mirror image of vanity! Whoever fights against fate, his armor must be bloody and rusted from the rain of humanity's tears!
I see your Gorgons, this brood of vice, and you whisper to me: "This is the world, master, dirty and unconquerable." – Mockery! A triple mockery! Evil is not a woman with snake hair, Gustav! Evil is the Silence! The pride of princes! The deafness of hearts! Your Typhoeus is too material, too clumsy for me. The hostile forces sit deeper – in the marrow, in the bones, where no brush reaches!
You point to the Poetry and say: "Here is your comfort, the quiet sound in the noise." – Here we meet! Yes! She is the only way out of the dungeon. She is the light I sought when I cursed the world and yet kept writing.
But then – in the end – you show me the couple and whisper: "This is happiness, Ludwig, the kiss of the whole world." – No! No, I tell you! The joy I sang of is not a physical lust in a golden egg! It is a Divine spark! An explosion of the spirit! Your couple is too full for me, too still. Too fleshy!
You say: "I took the gold because your music gilds the world." – And I answer: I took trombones because the truth must shake! You are a fool, Gustav, just like me! You have the Inexpressible desired. We seek the same path: Up! From darkness to light! I forgive you the splendor. We are brothers in the misunderstood.
L. v. Beethoven
(mppria)
Word Symphony in Ew major 'awakened from death'
(Dedicated to Ludwig's 2nd life)
Third movement: The golden armor of resistance
Scherzo (Allegro vivace e con fuoco)
Knighthood ff – Abyss-staring blind – Gold rail rhythm martellato! Resistance motif whipping, fate bite sforzato! Typhoeus rumbling tuba profunda, Snake swirl downwards – Vice laughter shrill in Discanto! Armor glow, will storm furioso – Strike iron beat relentless! Jagged, thorny, proud of mind!
Trio (Meno allegro – dolce e legatissimo)
Poetry deployment p dolce – Lyre vibration ethereal – Longing flight hovering over monsters! Peace pause fermata, Heart breath holding – Angel choir mezza voce, Silver foam harmony softly flowing! Innocence motif glassy, string trembling in Pianissimo – Dream modulation inward!
Development
Gold destruction fff – Form break, color frenzy, line war! Knight theme chasing poetry motif – Snake dissonance glaring! God spark flash subito p, then deep turmoil swirl! Frieze crack, second scream, chaos modulation in mind rage!
Reprise
Scherzo theme eruptively back – Knighthood sharper, gold rhythm indomitable! Vice laughter now triumph cheers! Poetry deployment transfigured in Fortissimo – Kiss chord massive, world embrace tutti! Final crescendo – Spirit triumphs over gold!
