The aging psyche and the question of artistic change: An examination of one career

Abstract

A long-time lover of music, I confess to having a bizarre penchant for trying to test my informally trained musical intelligence in situations which require quick recognition, be it a piece, a composer, a performer, or some such feature. In fact, this article originated with my failure to recognize a theretofore unfamiliar work and with the surprise I experienced upon learning it was Verdi's last opera,Falstaff, composed when he was nearly 80. For a listener familiar withLa Traviata orAida, it appeared quite strange and surprising. Moreover, as I found out later, the sense of puzzlement was not merely a matter of subjective impression but rather exemplified an overall stylistic departure in Verdi's late life work, its salient features being compression and urgency rather than spaciousness, flowing line, a pervasive use of biting irony compared to the straightforward lyricism of the earlier work, a retreat from psychological realism in favour of sketchy, abstract portrayals, an overall impatience with established operatic convention, and a symphonic rather than linear or melodic conception. Some of these characteristics have also been found in the late works of painters and sculptors (e.g., Arnheim, 1986; Clark, 1972; Munsterberg, 1983). Taken together these observations raised for me the issue of artistic change, an issue of considerable significance to the understanding of creative endeavour in general.