Missing Puzzles – Review by Giuseppe Storti

 

Missing Puzzles – A Novel by Maria Teresa De Donato

Review by Giuseppe Storti

 

The Romans had the cult of ancestors The "mos maiorum", literally: the ancestors' customs, is the founding core of Roman civilization. The Romans jealously guarded the Lares and Penates in their homes. In every Roman domus, there were statuettes that symbolized the Lares who protected the family. While the Penates are guardian spirits of the family's food reserves. A cult that was passed down from father to son.

The book by Dr. De Donato, which reconstructs the life of her ancestors in its dense plot backward, does nothing but revive a tradition and a culture that Western civilization has forged in its DNA. The story and reconstruction of one's family's past must be done exclusively by projecting one's present into the past before time can inexorably erase its traces. We are nothing if we do not remember what we have been.

Reconstructing the past through genealogical research of one's ancestors strengthens one's identity, allowing one to face the future with more certainty. Indeed, only those with a solid past can face future challenges with more strength and optimism. The talented writer goes back in time, as in an imaginary machine, through accurate genealogical research, combined with a meticulous analysis of the personality and behavior of those who preceded her. She even studies the influences that have modified the character and behavior of her ancestors in the passage of various historical eras. It starts from the barbarian invasions, passes through the Middle Ages, and reaches the twentieth century. A truly fascinating journey.

The description of the most important historical events that have characterized the history of the European continent is also very accurate. The pages on the origins of her father and mother are beautiful and very emotional, with considerations of the effects that the unfortunate event of the Second World War had on her nuclear family. Finally, the immense gratitude of a daughter for the love received and the conspicuous cultural heritage inherited from her family, with the load of traditions to respect and love.

It is an autobiographical novel based on the narrative thread of the so-called memoirs that are having great success in the contemporary publishing scene. A book to read precisely because it is a fitting example of the value of memory, which must be cultivated and loved and, above all, must be witnessed in the only possible way so as not to vanish: that is, with writing. The missing puzzle the author manages to find at the end of her careful research is precisely in that inestimable cultural heritage inherited from her large family.

Anelli Mancanti – Recensione di Giuseppe Storti

 

Anelli Mancanti – Romanzo di Maria Teresa De Donato

Recensione di Giuseppe Storti

  

I romani avevano il culto degli antenati Il “mos maiorum”, letteralmente: le usanze degli antenati, è il fulcro fondante della civiltà romana. I romani custodivano gelosamente in casa i lari e i penati. In ogni domus romana vi erano le statuette che simboleggiavano i Lari che proteggevano la famiglia. Mentre i Penati sono spiriti tutelari dei viveri di riserva della famiglia. Un culto che si tramandava di padre in figlio.

Il libro della dottoressa De Donato, che a ritroso ricostruisce nella sua fitta trama la vita dei suoi antenati, non fa altro che rinverdire una tradizione e una cultura che la civiltà occidentale ha forgiato nel proprio DNA. Il racconto e la ricostruzione del passato della propria famiglia, deve essere fatto esclusivamente proiettando il proprio presente nel passato. Prima che il tempo inesorabilmente possa cancellarne le tracce. Non siamo niente se non ricordiamo ciò che siamo stati.

Ricostruire il passato attraverso la ricerca genealogica dei propri antenati, rafforza la propria identità, consentendo di affrontare il futuro con più certezze. Sì, perché solo chi ha un solido passato, può affrontare le sfide future con più forza e ottimismo. La valente scrittrice va a ritroso nel tempo, come in una immaginaria macchina per il tramite di una accurata ricerca genealogica, unita ad una meticolosa analisi della personalità e dei comportamenti di coloro che l'hanno preceduta. Addirittura studia gli influssi che hanno modificato il carattere e i comportamenti dei suoi avi, nel passaggio delle varie ere storiche. Si parte dalle invasioni barbariche, passando per il Medioevo, arrivando al Novecento. Un viaggio davvero affascinante.

Molto accurata è anche la descrizione degli eventi storici più importanti che hanno caratterizzato la storia del continente europeo. Bellissime e molto emozionanti le pagine sulle origini del proprio padre e della madre, con le considerazioni degli effetti che ha avuto sulla propria famiglia nucleare l’infausto accadimento della Seconda Guerra Mondiale. Infine l’immensa gratitudine di una figlia per l’amore ricevuto e per il cospicuo patrimonio culturale avuto in eredità dalla sua famiglia, con il carico di tradizioni da rispettare ed amare.

Un romanzo autobiografico che si innesca sul filone narrativo della cosiddetta memorialistica che sta avendo grande successo nel panorama editoriale contemporaneo. Un libro da leggere, proprio perché è un esempio calzante del valore della memoria, che va coltivata e amata, soprattutto va testimoniata nell’unico modo possibile per non svanirla: ovvero con la scrittura. L’anello mancante, l’autrice riesce alla fine a ritrovarlo al termine della sua accurata ricerca proprio in quel inestimabile patrimonio culturale ricevuto in eredità dalla sua grande famiglia.

Fehlende Rätsel – Rezension von Giuseppe Storti

 

Fehlende Rätsel – Roman von Maria Teresa De Donato

Rezension von Giuseppe Storti

 

Die Römer hatten den Ahnenkult. Der „mos maiorum“, wörtlich: die Bräuche der Ahnen, ist der Gründungskern der römischen Zivilisation. Die Römer bewachten die Laren und Penaten eifersüchtig in ihren Häusern. In jedem römischen Domus gab es Statuetten, die die Laren symbolisierten, die die Familie beschützten. Während die Penaten Schutzgeister der Nahrungsvorräte der Familie sind. Ein Kult, der vom Vater an den Sohn weitergegeben wurde.

Das Buch von Dr. De Donato, das in seiner dichten Handlung das Leben ihrer Vorfahren rekonstruiert, tut nichts anderes, als eine Tradition und Kultur wiederzubeleben, die in der DNA der westlichen Zivilisation verankert sind. Die Erzählung und Rekonstruktion der eigenen Familienvergangenheit muss ausschließlich durch die Projektion der eigenen Gegenwart in die Vergangenheit erfolgen. Bevor die Zeit ihre Spuren unaufhaltsam verwischen kann. Wir sind nichts, wenn wir uns nicht daran erinnern, was wir waren.

Die Rekonstruktion der Vergangenheit durch genealogische Ahnenforschung stärkt die eigene Identität und lässt einen mit mehr Sicherheit in die Zukunft blicken. Ja, denn nur wer auf eine solide Vergangenheit zurückblicken kann, kann den Herausforderungen der Zukunft mit mehr Kraft und Optimismus begegnen. Die talentierte Schriftstellerin reist wie in einer imaginären Maschine durch die Zeit zurück und führt dazu genaue genealogische Recherchen durch, kombiniert mit einer gewissenhaften Analyse der Persönlichkeit und des Verhaltens ihrer Vorgänger. Sie untersucht sogar die Einflüsse, die den Charakter und das Verhalten ihrer Vorfahren im Laufe der verschiedenen historischen Epochen verändert haben. Wir beginnen mit den Invasionen der Barbaren, gehen durch das Mittelalter und kommen im 20. Jahrhundert an. Eine wirklich faszinierende Reise.

Auch die Beschreibung der wichtigsten historischen Ereignisse, die die Geschichte des europäischen Kontinents geprägt haben, ist sehr treffend. Die Seiten über die Herkunft ihres Vaters und ihrer Mutter sind wunderschön und sehr bewegend und enthalten Überlegungen zu den Auswirkungen, die die unglücklichen Ereignisse des Zweiten Weltkriegs auf ihre Kernfamilie hatten. Und schließlich die unermessliche Dankbarkeit einer Tochter für die empfangene Liebe und das beträchtliche kulturelle Erbe ihrer Familie, mit all den Traditionen, die es zu respektieren und zu lieben gilt.

Ein autobiografischer Roman, der dem Erzähltrend der sogenannten Memoiren folgt, die in der zeitgenössischen Verlagsszene großen Erfolg haben. Ein Buch, das man lesen sollte, gerade weil es ein treffendes Beispiel für den Wert der Erinnerung ist, die gepflegt und geliebt und vor allem auf die einzig mögliche Weise bezeugt werden muss, damit sie nicht verloren geht: nämlich durch das Schreiben. Am Ende ihrer sorgfältigen Recherche gelingt es der Autorin, das fehlende Bindeglied in diesem unschätzbar wertvollen kulturellen Erbe ihrer großen Familie zu finden.

 

 

Adolf von Henselt

  

Georg Martin Adolf von Henselt (Schwabach, May 12, 1814 – Warmbrunn, October 10, 1889), when he was three years old, his parents Phillip E. Henselt and Caroline Geigenmüller decided to move to Munich, for economic reasons.

He approached music early, playing the violin at the age of three, the piano at five and at fifteen he gave his first public recital. Admired by the music of Carl Maria von Weber, during his youth he made many transcriptions and arrangements of the music of the composer and pianist from Eutin.

In 1832 he studied music (piano) in Weimar under the guidance of Johnann Hummel and composition with Simon Sechter, thanks to a scholarship from King Ludwig I of Bavaria.

In 1836 in Weimar he met Rosalie Vögel, wife of a court physicist and friend of Goethe, whom he married after his divorce. This love would inspire his Poéme d'amour op. 3, one of the most appreciated works of the German composer.

He stood out for a peculiar piano technique, based on a large opening of the fingers and a major strict "legato".

In 1836 he began his career as a concert pianist in Berlin and just two years later he was published in Russia, in St. Petersburg, where he obtained important positions, including that of court pianist and teacher. His teachings and compositions influenced the new generation of local pianists.

After a few years, in 1863, Henselt was appointed general inspector of all musical institutions linked to the Russian court. Among his students we can count: Nicolai Zverev, Ivan Neylisov and Gustav Kross.

Although his compositions were not very numerous and his public appearances not very frequent, Adolf von Henselt was one of the most appreciated pianists of his time. It is a pity that he suffered from severe stage fright. Alexander Dreyshock told an anecdote about this. He said that one day, while he was visiting Henselt's house, he heard from outside one of the most beautiful melodies he had ever heard in his life. He was so impressed that he did not even ring the doorbell and listened to the entire musical performance from outside. When the music was finished, Dreyshock entered Henselt's house and asked her to play it again, and the result was much inferior to what he had heard before from outside. Henselt's nerves had betrayed him.

Among his major works, we can mention a Piano Concerto, Concert Studies; Poème d'amour, Ballade, Preparatory Exercises.

It is natural that Henselt's Piano Concerto reflects his characteristics as a pianist. The piece requires the performer to have a hand reach that can play chords spanning tenths with ease, a lyrical, cantabile execution, and an incredible technical mastery to execute thundering octave passages, flashy arpeggios, and rapid octave jumps—somewhat akin to a figure skater having to perform endlessly. triple and quadruple jumps and land them perfectly and gracefully every time. One thing to note is that all the difficulties in the solo part and the incredible feats accomplished by the pianist are often not immediately apparent without the score. With the constant technical demands, the concerto requires athleticism, stamina, and endurance on the part of the pianist. There are currently only three recordings of this concerto available, so it is an extremely rare pleasure to be able to hear this concerto live today.

Adolf von Henselt

 

Georg Martin Adolf von Henselt (Schwabach, 12 maggio 1814 – Warmbrunn, 10 ottobre 1889), quando aveva tre anni, i suoi genitori Phillip E. Henselt e Caroline Geigenmüller decisero di trasferirsi a Monaco di Baviera, per motivi economici.
Si è precocemente accostato alla musica suonando già all'età di tre anni il violino, a cinque il pianoforte e a quindici anni ha dato il suo primo recital pubblico. Ammirato dalla musica di Carl Maria von Weber, durante la sua giovinezza fece molte trascrizioni e arrangiamenti della musica del compositore e pianista di Eutin.
Nel 1832 studiò musica (pianoforte) a Weimar sotto la guida di Johnann Hummel e composizione con Simon Sechter, grazie a una borsa di studio del re Ludovico I di Baviera.
Nel 1836 a Weimar incontrò Rosalie Vögel, moglie di un fisico di corte e amica di Goethe, che sposò dopo il suo divorzio. Questo amore ispirerà il suo Poéme d'amour op. 3, una delle opere più apprezzate del compositore tedesco.
Si mise in evidenza per una peculiare tecnica pianistica, basata su una grande apertura delle dita e su un maggiore stretto "legato".

Nel 1836 iniziò la sua carriera di concertista a Berlino e appena due anni dopo si pubblicò in Russia, a San Pietroburgo, dove ottenne importanti incarichi, tra i quali quello di pianista di corte e di insegnante. I suoi insegnamenti e le sue composizioni influenzarono la nuova generazione di pianisti locali.
Dopo qualche anno, nel 1863, Henselt fu nominato ispettore generale di tutte le istituzioni musicali legato alla corte russa. Tra i suoi studenti annoveriamo: Nicolai Zverev, Ivan Neylisov e Gustav Kross.
Sebbene le sue composizioni non fossero molto numerose e le sue apparizioni pubbliche non molto frequenti, Adolf von Henselt fu uno dei pianisti più apprezzati del suo tempo. Peccato che abbia sofferto di una grande paura del palcoscenico. Alexander Dreyshock ha raccontato un aneddoto su questo. Disse che un giorno, mentre stava visitando la casa di Henselt, sentì dall'esterno una delle melodie più belle che avesse mai ascoltato nella sua vita. Era così impressionato che non suonò nemmeno il campanello e ascoltò dall'esterno l'intera esecuzione musicale. Una volta finita la musica, Dreyshock entrò in casa di Henselt e le chiese di suonarla di nuovo, e il risultato fu molto inferiore rispetto a quello che aveva sentito prima dall'esterno. I nervi di Henselt lo avevano tradito.

Tra le sue opere principali, sono da annoverare un Concerto per pianoforte, Studi da concerto; Poème d'amour, Ballata, Esercizi preparatori.
È naturale che il Concerto per pianoforte di Henselt riflette le sue caratteristiche di pianista. Il pezzo richiede all'esecutore un allungamento della mano in grado di suonare accordi che abbracciano decimi con facilità, un'esecuzione lirica cantabile e un'incredibile padronanza tecnica per eseguire passaggi di ottava tonanti, arpeggi appariscenti e rapidi salti di ottava: qualcosa di simile a un pattinatore che deve esibirsi all'infinito. salti tripli e quadrupli e atterrarli perfettamente e con grazia ogni volta. Una cosa da notare è che tutte le difficoltà nella parte solista e le incredibili imprese compiute dal pianista spesso non sono immediatamente evidenti senza la partitura. Con le costanti esigenze tecniche, il concerto richiede atletismo, resistenza e resistenza da parte del pianista. Al momento sono disponibili solo tre registrazioni di questo concerto, quindi è un piacere estremamente raro poter ascoltare questo concerto dal vivo oggi.

Adolf von Henselt

 

Georg Martin Adolf von Henselt (Schwabach, 12. Mai 1814 – Warmbrunn, 10. Oktober 1889), als er drei Jahre alt war, beschlossen seine Eltern Phillip E. Henselt und Caroline Geigenmüller aus wirtschaftlichen Gründen, nach München zu ziehen.

Er kam schon früh mit der Musik in Berührung: Mit drei Jahren spielte er Geige, mit fünf Klavier und mit fünfzehn gab er sein erstes öffentliches Konzert. Bewundert von der Musik Carl Maria von Webers, fertigte er in seiner Jugend zahlreiche Transkriptionen und Arrangements der Musik des Eutiner Komponisten und Pianisten an.

Ab 1832 studierte er dank eines Stipendiums des bayerischen Königs Ludwig I. in Weimar Musik (Klavier) bei Johannann Hummel und Komposition bei Simon Sechter.

1836 lernte er in Weimar Rosalie Vögel kennen, die Frau eines Hofphysikers und Freundin Goethes, die er nach seiner Scheidung heiratete. Diese Liebe wird sein Poéme d'amour op. inspirieren. 3, eines der am meisten geschätzten Werke des deutschen Komponisten.

Er fiel durch seine eigentümliche Klaviertechnik auf, die auf einer großen Öffnung der Finger und einem straffen „Legato“ beruhte.

1836 begann er seine Karriere als Konzertpianist in Berlin und bereits zwei Jahre später trat er in Russland, in St. Petersburg, auf, wo er wichtige Positionen erhielt, darunter die des Hofpianisten und Lehrers. Seine Lehren und Kompositionen beeinflussten die neue Generation lokaler Pianisten.

Einige Jahre später, im Jahr 1863, wurde Henselt zum Generalinspektor aller mit dem russischen Hof verbundenen Musikinstitutionen ernannt. Zu seinen Schülern zählten Nicolai Zverev, Ivan Neylisov und Gustav Kross.

Obwohl er nicht sehr zahlreich komponierte und nicht sehr häufig öffentlich auftrat, war Adolf von Henselt einer der beliebtesten Pianisten seiner Zeit. Es ist schade, dass er unter starkem Lampenfieber litt. Alexander Dreyshock erzählte dazu eine Anekdote. Er sagte, dass er eines Tages, als er Henselts Haus besuchte, von draußen eine der schönsten Melodien hörte, die er je in seinem Leben gehört hatte. Er war so beeindruckt, dass er nicht einmal klingelte und der gesamten musikalischen Darbietung von draußen lauschte. Als die Musik zu Ende war, betrat Dreyshock Henselts Haus und bat sie, die Musik noch einmal zu spielen. Das Ergebnis war weitaus schlechter als das, was er zuvor von draußen gehört hatte. Henselts Nerven hatten ihn im Stich gelassen.

Zu seinen Hauptwerken zählen ein Klavierkonzert und Konzertstudien; Liebesgedicht, Ballade, Vorübungen.

Es ist natürlich, dass Henselts Klavierkonzert seine Eigenschaften als Pianist widerspiegelt. Das Stück erfordert vom Interpreten eine Hand, mit der er mühelos Akkorde spielen kann, die über Dezimen hinausgehen, einen lyrischen, singbaren Vortrag und eine unglaubliche technische Meisterschaft, um donnernde Oktavpassagen, auffällige Arpeggios und schnelle Oktavsprünge auszuführen – etwa so, als ob ein Eiskunstläufer endlose Leistungen erbringen müsste. Dreifach- und Vierfachsprünge und landen Sie sie jedes Mal perfekt und anmutig. Zu beachten ist jedoch, dass die Schwierigkeiten des Soloparts und die unglaublichen Leistungen des Pianisten ohne die Partitur oft nicht sofort ersichtlich sind. Mit ständigen technischen Anforderungen erfordert das Konzert vom Pianisten Athletik, Kondition und Durchhaltevermögen. Da derzeit lediglich drei Mitschnitte dieses Konzerts erhältlich sind, ist es ein äußerst seltenes Vergnügen, dieses Konzert heute live hören zu können.

I'd love to tell you – Novel - Review by Maria Teresa De Donato

 

I'd love to tell you – A Novel by Maria Cristina Buoso

 

Review by Maria Teresa De Donato

 

 

"I’d love to tell you so many things, but for too long I have held the words inside me... You didn't know how to tell me 'I love you'" (Buoso, 2024, p. 7)

This publication, by its author, Maria Cristina Buoso, highlights the problematic relationship between father and daughter and their respective inability to appropriately communicate their thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

In this novel, which takes on the character of a personal diary, its protagonist, Diva, imagines writing a long letter to her father, opening her heart and revealing everything she would have liked to tell him, and that, for one reason or another, she never did.

The heartfelt and painful need to have his approval, to know that he was proud of his daughter, to receive from her father those demonstrations of love and affection that she would have so much desired and needed, especially after her mother's death, which occurred when she was just nine years old, represent an excessive burden for Diva. At times, they seem to take her joy in life and even her breath away.

The absence of her father, even in the most important and tragic moments of her life, creates suffering and multiplies doubts and misunderstandings about the possible reasons that may have pushed him to assume such an attitude.

"You never told me 'bravo,' you never had faith in my abilities, you always criticized and belittled me." (p. 17)

The disappointment is great in remembering how expectations have always been betrayed, how dreams and hopes about her family have never come true: "... the pain of that time has not yet completely eased and keeps consuming me together with the wounds that your indifference has inflicted upon me." (p. 30)

Despite the inner suffering, frustration, and sadness arising from the awareness of how things went and how, on the contrary, they could have gone if there had been the ability on her father’s side to understand his daughter's needs and show her the affection and attention she so much desired, the memories that surface in Diva's mind and the consequent venting that she gives by writing this sort of diary, a letter to her father, lead her to an introspective analysis.

This latter strengthens in her the need to meet her father, to confront him, to ask for explanations of his behavior, to understand his reasons, and also to tell him about her life, the one she has led since she left her home and the successes, especially the professional ones, she had.

Thus, between one memory and another, despite the outburst and the insistent accusations, paradoxically, the resentment fades away while the need to meet grows, to make peace, to tell each other how much they love each other and how proud they have always been of one another. The need to break down the wall of silence that has generated useless and inexplicable tensions and misunderstandings becomes urgent, forcing Diva to hit the road in search of her father.

In the meantime, Life has gone on its way and will reserve a great and unexpected surprise for her.

The novel ends with a poem that the Author dedicated to her father after his death and whose verses are made up of the chapter titles. 

In a futurist style that we have already encountered in her collection of verses Schegge di parole, the metrics, which in fact do not exist, are replaced by apparently disconnected words thrown there on the sheet. Reading them, however, a rather clear picture appears of a man who, having worked hard all his life, has kept secrets and sufferings inside himself without being able to show his loved ones, and especially his daughter, the great love he always had for them and that, despite appearances, has motivated all his choices and decisions.

I'd love to tell you is a novel written from the heart that will lead the reader to a deep reflection on the importance of never judging people by their appearances by attributing wrong motives to certain of their behaviors, but rather to grant the benefit of the doubt as their past could hide unspeakable secrets and sufferings that the person has not been able to free himself from nor, much less, has had the strength and courage to reveal... much less to his children.