Ich erzähle meine Erfahrung als seine und seine als meine: Reflexionen der Peter Härtlings Verdi-Roman

Abstract

In 2015 Peter Härtling’s novel Verdi. Ein Roman in neun Fantasien was published. 23 years before Härtling had written his first biography focusing on the life of a composer: Schubert. Zwölf moments musicaux. My article pursues two basic goals. On the one hand it aims at answering the question: What could attract the writer in his investigation into Verdi’s life, especially the years after 1870? On the other hand it puts special emphasis on a comparison of Härtling’s use of language in his novels on Schubert and Verdi. In how far do the personalities and the music of the two artists influence the structure, the syntax, the vocabulary chosen on part of the writer? Are there changes in Härtling’s style that become evident in a comparison? How does the writer succeed in expressing his very personal musical encounters with Verdi and Schubert with the help of words?