Thomas Bernhard (1931-1989) is one of the most important Austrian writers of the 20th century
"Der Untergeher" by Thomas Bernhard
Johann von Bülow, recitation.
Rahel Rilling, violin, Gabriel Adorján, violin, David Adorján, violoncello
The narrator in this work, published in 1983, lives in Madrid and is writing a thesis on the Canadian pianist Glenn Gould, "the most important piano virtuoso of the century", who, at the peak of his art, stopped playing. In Madrid, the narrator receives a telegram announcing the funeral of his friend Wertheimer, who has committed suicide. The three had met in Salzburg at a music course given by Horowitz. It soon became clear that Glenn Gould was the greatest genius. Under the impression of the superiority of this genius, the narrator became a "world view artist", a critic of his time and especially a critic of Austria, while Wertheimer plunged into an irreversible existential depression.
At the center of the thoughts in "Der Untergeher" is the reflection, the detailed comparison of the first-person narrator with Wertheimer, which becomes a confrontation between two different life models with the same starting position.
Johann von Bülow now lends his voice to this tragic but also humorous tale and skillfully brings out these nuances between crying and laughing. This is accompanied by the piece of music that is still mentioned today, almost in the same breath as Glenn Gould, the Goldberg Variations by Johann Sebastian Bach in a rarely performed instrumentation, by a string trio with David Adorján, Rahel Rilling and Gabriel Adorján.
Thomas Bernhard (1931-1989) is one of the most important Austrian writers. Translated into over forty languages, he is considered a world author today. As an author of poems, short stories, novels and plays, he created a body of work that is considered one of the
among the most important literary achievements of the 20th century. Bernhard's work continues to have a lasting resonance with the public and beyond the German-speaking world, as well as repeatedly provoking controversial academic debate. In 1963, after publishing several volumes of poetry, he achieved his literary breakthrough with the novel Frost. Numerous other novels and short stories appeared in quick succession: Amras (1964), Verstörung (1967), Das Kalkwerk (1970), Korrektur (1975), Der Untergeher (1983), Alte Meister (1985) and Auslöschung (1986). From 1970, Bernhard also became one of the most successful German-language playwrights, premiering a total of eighteen plays. He received public recognition in the form of the Georg Büchner Prize (1970), the Premio Letterario Internazionale Mondello (1983) and the Prix Medicis (1988).