What grates upon me more is the way in which he speaks of himself. The
disproportion between his subject and the means he has of expressing it
is too strong. Above all, I do not like this display of the inner and
secret self. There is a want of reticence in this _Sinfonia Domestica_.
The fireside, the sitting-room, and the bedchamber, are open to
all-comers. Is this the family feeling of Germany to-day? I admit that
the first time I heard the work it jarred upon me for purely moral
reasons, in spite of the liking I have for its composer. But afterwards
I altered my first opinion, and found the music admirable. Do you know
the programme?
The first part shows you three people: a man, a woman, and a child. The
man is represented by three themes: a _motif_ full of spirit and humour,
a thoughtful _motif_, and a _motif_ expressing eager and enthusiastic
action. The woman has only two themes: one expressing caprice, and the
other love and tenderness. The child has a single _motif_, which is
quiet, innocent, and not very defined in character; its real value is
not shown until it is developed.... Which of the two parents is he like?
The family sit round him and discuss him.
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