Johann Strauss II leads an orchestra, by Theo Zasche‘Strauss Vater’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko The Society February 16, 2025 Beauty, Music, Poetry 19 Comments . Strauss Vater Scene: Vienna, Austrian Empire: Midnight, October 15, 1844. On this night the famous musician, Johann Strauss, Sr. snubbed the professional musical debut of his soon-to-be famous son, Johann Strauss, Jr. (nicknamed “Schanni” by his relatives) at Dommayer’s Casino. Strauss Sr. had been engaged in a campaign to sabotage his son’s fledgling music career. This effort was thwarted when the proprietor of Dommayer’s defied the elder Strauss and hosted his son’s professional debut. Smarting from the betrayal, Strauss Sr. refused to ever perform there again. One-two-three, one-two… When I write a waltz All the Habsburgs and nobles applaud me en masse. So Schanni thinks he can upstage me? My ass! Vienna shall mock all his musical faults! Don’t think I’m resentful. No, I shall sleep well. His gala debut? What a musical joke! Well if I’ve disappointed him, he can go choke And go back to accounting—and do that mach schnell! This opening night (which I happily snubbed) Was offered at Dommayer’s. I was their king! How dare those fools book him? An insulting sting Which I’ll never forgive. Nein. Our contract is scrubbed. Approval of who could perform was my right! I’m greatly offended. But they have not won! I’ll make certain that Schanni is hired by none. It’s my right! He’s my son! Well, he was till tonight. My spies say he twirled his baton like an elf From our Viennese Woods; that his violin howled Like a cat that a butcher had just disemboweled. That a Strauss should make such of a fool of himself! When Schanni was young I arranged his whole life: A banker or lawyer, he’d master the laws Of the realm. He would never perform for applause And I’d bargain to find him a suitable wife. He’d never learn music! I made that quite clear! No violin tutoring; no composition. His life would be figures; subtraction, addition. Divorced and kept clear from my music career. The boy cannot see this was for his own good! For waltzes do not pay the bills. And what’s more Musicians are usually starving and poor. I wanted to spare him despair if I could. But under my nose a musician defied me And taught him arpeggios, keys, complex chords. The tricks of the trade that would steer Schanni towards Betrayal. To think I once held him beside me! Conspiracy! Treachery! I am the head Of our home! It’s the father who makes each decision! To have my role shattered by Schanni’s derision…! I’ll never forgive him. To me he is dead. My wife claims I’m jealous. Me? Hah. Care to bet? He’s talentless, thus there’s no basis. No “why.” Maria’s a harpy to state such a lie! Me jealous!? What rubbish. Dull Schanni’s no threat. I’d never hold Schanni back—I would not bother If he had a gift—but the boy is unskilled! Now if he were a genius whose hopes I had killed — Well then I’d be a monster and scarcely a father. . Poet’s Note: Within a few short years, the speaker’s son—Johann Strauss Jr.—composer of the Blue Danube Waltz, Die Fledermaus and other classical masterworks—would be renowned as Vienna’s “Waltz King,” thoroughly eclipsing his father in skill and popularity. Johann Strauss Senior never forgave him. . . Piano with Burn Marks Setting: 2004. The Bronx It too, he said, was born in 1920. Some ancient gouges marred its oak veneer, But sadder yet to find when I got near: The fallboard, panel, lid and maybe half Of all the keys, including Middle C, Were blackened and a little bit deformed. The “Baldwin” logo was reduced to “-dwin.” But that piano had a polished shine And stood upright like grandpa’s friend, “Pops” Stein, Who’d lived in the old tenement forever. He had gray stubble and a cataract And often wandered humming through the hall. He’d somehow schmoozed me into his small flat To play me some old tunes before he moved. Pops gave that old piano a fond pat, And blushed as if it were a pretty girl. He said it started life with Eubie Blake In some speakeasy hidden up in Harlem. From there it found its way to Tin Pan Alley And a rehearsal room just off Times Square. That studio then closed after the War As Pops was starting out with a Big Band. He bought it cheap—for less than half-a-grand, And here is where they’ve stayed for fifty years. He said “pee-ana” with a sanguine face. They’d played it all, from Kern to Nat King Cole. Now Pops was moving to his daughter’s house Up in Schenectady. He sighed. She thought He’d maybe give the Baldwin to that place For old musicians somewhere down in Queens. A few keys didn’t play so good no more, But they were simply flat and needed tuning. And then there was that awful nighttime blaze… What date was it? He couldn’t quite remember, But Eisenhower ran the country then. Ah yes, it was a blustery December. His little heater had burst into flame. The sofa burned, the furniture, a rug… But trucks came and the pee-ana was saved – A neighbor helped—now what was that man’s name? The top was seared, some ivories were engraved With burn marks but the instrument played fine. Pops’ eyes grew misty. Then, “Listen to this!” He sat down at the bench, so tall yet thin. He stretched his arms and then began to play “Heart and Soul.” As gnarled fingers flew His baggy sleeves revealed old grafts of skin. I saw a burn scar frame a missing ear. I looked away as tears welled in my eyes. Pops finished. I stood up and clapped my hands. “Oh hell,” he said. I’ll tell the kid that me And the pee-ana are a package deal.” That Baldwin still could play a melody. And Pops? Despite deep scarring, so could he. . . Brian Yapko is a retired lawyer whose poetry has appeared in over fifty journals. He is the winner of the 2023 SCP International Poetry Competition. Brian is also the author of several short stories, the science fiction novel El Nuevo Mundo and the gothic archaeological novel Bleeding Stone. He lives in Wimauma, Florida. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. Trending now: 19 Responses Roy Eugene Peterson February 16, 2025 What a great poem and story about the father of the greatest Johann Strauss! I recognize your great love for music from previous associations and you have composed an overture that waltzed through my mind while reading it. I was fortunate in life to have attended a summer waltz concert beside the Danube with my family in a Viennese open-air park. It was magical. “The Piano with Burn Marks” similarly was an enchanting loving tale fired with care and singed with empathy. The uneven spacing of rhyme was like an out of tune piano and contributed to the aura of the poem. Reply Brian A. Yapko February 17, 2025 Thank you very much indeed, Roy. I love hearing your about your many travels. I’ve been to Vienna twice and would have loved to attend a concert by the Danube. I’ve been lucky enough to attend two Mozart-related concerts at the Musikverein (not their famous New Year’s concert). As is traditional at Vienna’s annual concert of Strauss-related music, the performance ended with Strauss Jr.’s Blue Danube Waltz and then Strauss Sr.’s Radetzky March. Whether Johann Sr. and Johann Jr. like it or not, their legacies are inextricably entwined. I appreciate your kind words about “Piano With Burn Marks” and especially enjoyed your vivid description of it. Reply Cheryl A Corey February 16, 2025 The subject of this poem is very intriguing. I’ve always loved Strauss waltzes, but was unfamiliar with the father/son rivalry. Very clever rhymes of “en masse” with “My ass”, and “sleep well” with “mach schnell”. Reply Brian A. Yapko February 17, 2025 Thank you very much, Cheryl. I was also unfamiliar with that rivalry until I saw an old Disney movie from 1963 (when Disney was respectable) called “The Waltz King.” I was very skeptical of the conflict it depicted between Strauss Sr. and Jr. and decided to research it further only to find that it was all true! Strauss Sr. was a horrible father who really did do his best to sabotage his son’s career. I appreciate the kind words about the rhymes. Writing them made me laugh. I did not want to turn this into a comic poem, but the over-the-top jealousy of Strauss Sr. of his own son in the end struck me as funny as it was unnatural. Senior completely undermined his own dignity and I thought that might come out in some of the word choices. Reply jd February 16, 2025 Enjoyed both poems, especially the second with its happy ending. Both are outstanding as always but the first is so sad. Reply Brian A. Yapko February 17, 2025 Thank you very much, jd. Isn’t that interesting that you found the first one sad rather than the second? But you are right! Pops Stein in “Piano” is secure in who he is and is happy so long as he gets to play his piano. No relationships were harmed by his ego or his love of music. It is the exact opposite with Strauss Senior who may have been a great composer, but a bad father, an ungracious musician and a man whose insecure ego cannot allow him to share glory with his own son. He preferred an estrangement from his son rather than to share the limelight. And he is incapable of being honest with himself. There is a comical aspect to his egomanical rant, but you’re so right — what he does is terribly sad. Reply Joseph S. Salemi February 16, 2025 The “Strauss Vater” dramatic monologue does what the genre is best at doing — showing a personality, a mind, and a soul by having the speaker recount an event and a conflict. Browning was superb at this sort of thing, and Yapko is clearly in the same class. The behavior of Strauss Senior is self-revelatory, and unconsciously self-damning, just as in “My Last Duchess.” Here Strauss Senior comes off as insanely hostile towards his own son, and filled with psychopathic resentment at the younger man’s talent. This shows an Oedipal conflict so deeply rooted that it is on the verge of violence. Most fathers are pleased if their sons share their interests, and happily encourage it. The fact that Strauss Junior surpassed his father’s reputation must have been rankling to the elder man. The tetrameter ABBA quatrains for a dramatic monologue are unexpected, but they work well. In a couple of cases (the seventh and the tenth quatrains) the BB rhymes end feminine, and I think that is deliberate, because they deal with the command that the son not study music, and the rage of the father that he has been disobeyed. “Piano with Burn Marks” is an excellent narrative piece, but it is also a character study of the old man. I think it is Yapko’s deep interest in the dramatic monologue form that lies behind this — the old man is quoted directly only a few times, but much of the narrative is given in such a way as to sound like a substitute for directly quoted speech. I like the poem’s sporadic rhyming, which suggests the random tinkling of someone at a piano keyboard, hitting a key here and there, as if testing the instrument. One minor thing: I believe that the name of the Viennese casino was Dommayer’s, with a double /m/, but I might be wrong about that. The spelling of German names varied quite a bit in the 19th century. Reply Brian A. Yapko February 17, 2025 Thank you very much indeed, Joe, for your extremely generous comments. As you know, I am a big Browning fan and much-influenced by him so to be mentioned in the same sentence as him is the greatest honor I could hope for. I love writing dramatic monologues. They allow me a huge variety of subjects and voices and for someone who also loves history, such pieces are a wonderful way to combine interests and to play with different uses of language and form. I love your description of Strauss Senior as “insanely hostile.” It’s so true that it strikes me as almost funny — hence the mildly salty language he uses. I did indeed want the structure of the poem to be a bit unusual so that it would be poetry in the form of a waltz playing faster and faster losing all semblance of control or beauty. The a-b-b-a rhymes allowed the piece to seem restrained within “measures” but in a way that was illusory — the musical equivalent of that tense lockjaw that a performer has in front of a large audience when he is experiencing something overwhelming and yet trying to hold it together until he gets off-stage. Once the restraint of this poem is over, I can imagine Strauss Senior letting loose and smashing things against the wall. Your analysis of “Piano With Burn Marks” is spot-on. I originally conceived of it as a dramatic monologue and found that it didn’t work. As I saw it, it needed not only an interlocutor but an interpreter. There’s no way Pops Stein could have talked about how injuries from the fire required skin-grafts and cost him his ear without it descending into self-pity. That was the last thing I wanted from this character, so this had to become a narrative with dramatic monologue elements. Your understanding of this is so perceptive. As is your interpretation of the one rhyme per stanza set at arbitrary lines. I very much like your thought of it as an occasional tinkling of the keys. That fits in well with my conception of this as an echo line which suggested that the present contained only a distant echo of a musically rich past. In a way, structure itself has eroded in concert with Pops life. And thank you for the Dommayer’s correction. Good catch! Mike has fixed it for me. Reply Mark Stellinga February 16, 2025 Brian, have you ever thought of taking a shot on “Jeopardy”? As well versed as you are on a great number of out-of-the-ordinary subject matters, I’ve no doubt you would snag a serious pile of $$$! A very intense and interesting bit of history, this one, and the next – extremely moving. Both very special in their own way. Reply Brian A. Yapko February 17, 2025 Thank you so much, Mark! Jeopardy used to be my favorite show. But when Alex Trebek died I lost all interest. Still, thanks for the vote of confidence! I do love history and trivia associated with it. And I’m very glad you liked the poems. Reply Gigi Ryan February 16, 2025 Brian, Perhaps I would have learned more history growing up if I could have learned it through your verses. Thank you for this lesson. I will remember it next time I hear a piece by Johann Strauss Jr. Gigi Reply Brian A. Yapko February 17, 2025 Thank you so much, Gigi! I’m glad my historical pieces have piqued your interest. I should mention that the history associated with Classical Music is rich and engaging. And every great composer has an interesting story to tell. Reply Julian D. Woodruff February 16, 2025 These are both great, Brian. “Vater” is much in the same vein as the Leoncavallo-Puccini poem I had posted recently, but Vater’s rage is more irrational than L’s, since he can’t justify his own employment & career as a cafe musician if he says that he wants to protect his son from uncertainties of such a life. And I’m sure the denial of Sohn’s genius was even more a feat of self-delusion than was my poem’s L’s, even though Sohn was only 20 at the time. The carefully maintained triple meter echoes the waltzes of Vater & of his heyday–more familiar, probably, than Vater’s works are some of Schubert’s waltzes and the Diabelli waltz that became the subject of Beethoven’s 33 Variations–rather than the syncopated lilt we know from Sohn’s. (As for Sohn’s talent, there’s a marvelous testimonial you may know of. He invited Brahms to dinner one evening & asked him to inscribe his musician’s guestbook. The normal response would have been to write a line from his one of his own compositions and then subscribe it, perhaps with a word or two. Brahms scrawled the 1st few bars of the opening melody of The Blue Danube, and added “unfortunately not by Brahms.” Pops & the peeana is an affecting narrative told with lots of vivid touches. (You know, perhaps, of the German-American violinist Augustin Hadelich, whose face was horribly disfigured in a fire when he was young. Despite that misfortune and years of reconstructive surgery, he has built a career as one of the leading concert artists of the day.) Reply Brian A. Yapko February 17, 2025 Thank you so much, Julian! When I read your Leoncavallo poem I was ticckled at how we had both independently come to write of composers demonstrating some unflattering character flaws — ego and jealousy. I don’t know if you saw my comment on your poem but I enjoyed it very much! Yes, Vater’s rage is far more irrational and, dare I say, unnatural. As Joe above observes, most fathers are happy when their children share their interests and are successful – even among musicians. “Doe & Sons” is the usual parental dream. Imagine Leopold Mozart being competitive with Wolfgang! Or the Bach dynasty of composers trying to stifle the creativity of the next generation! Strauss Senior was uniquely petty. I’ve heard that beautiful story of Brahms and Strauss. They were, as I understand it, friends and I would have loved to have tagged along to hear them discuss music and their respective projects. You may quibble with me over this, but I think Brahms was the more ambitious artistically while Strauss Jr. was more fun. It is interesting to contemplate that they are buried within only few paces of each other at the composer’s corner of the Central Cemetery in Vienna. Lastly, thank you, Julian, for introducing me to Augustin Hadelich. I have never heard of him before and looked up his story and his music. His violin virtuosity is amazing and his story truly inspiring. Now that I know of him I intend to listen to more of his exceptional music. Reply Julian D. Woodruff February 17, 2025 Brian Thanks for alerting me here to your comment on my L poem. I’ve now read it and responded there. On the destiny of composers, it isn’t always easy: Schubert, despite his family’s musicality, was supposed to have been a teacher, Handel, among numerous others, a lawyer. Mozart senior was supportive to a point, but nagged his son not to give up the violin. (He didn’t, actually, but the piano became his sole performing medium as a professional.) On Strauss vs. Brahms, you have point. Not at all that Brahms lacked a sense of humor, but for most it’s a bit illusion. (He described the middle of the 1st mvt. of his 3rd Violin Sonata as a portrayal of himself sneaking through the shrubbery in the Prater with a willing Fraeulein.) Warren Bonham February 18, 2025 Fantastic storytelling in both. I’m not at all musically inclined but I am a father of sons. I’m completely baffled by the behavior of Strauss Sr. Perhaps if we had a trace of genius in our genes things might be different but I’d like to think not. I did find a parallel in the world of science. Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782) surpassed his father in brilliance at a young age. His father went so far that he stole some of Daniel’s work and published it as his own in an attempt to maintain his position as the most brilliant of the Bernoulli’s. His treachery against his son didn’t work and Daniel’s genius is acknowledged to this day. Baffling. Reply Brian A. Yapko February 18, 2025 Thank you so much, Warren! While we commonly regard parents like Strauss Senior as unnatural (although history can probably cite us some royal regents who would also quality) it seems rather common to consider sibling rivalries: hatred and sabotage between brothers, sisters or combos thereof going all the way back to Cain and Abel, but stopping along the way for Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers, Cleopatra and Ptolemy, Richard the Lionheart and King John, Mary and Elizabeth Tudor, the Brontes, through to Edwin and John Wilkes Booth, right down to Dear Abby and Ann Landers. Blood is no guaranty of love and support and sometimes quite the opposite. I am fascinated by the story of Daniel Bernoulli and his father. It’s exactly on point. About as sad as it gets. And, yes, baffling. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant February 18, 2025 Brian, I fully appreciate the effort that has gone into these two thoroughly engaging poems. There are so many delightful highlights, I am hard pressed to choose a starting point… the beginning will work! I am in awe of the “one-two-three, one-two… When I write a waltz” opening line of “Straus Vater” – your guiding hand had me instantly tuned in to the beat and waltzed me effortlessly to the scathing last stanza in a swirl of melodious spite that made me breathless. Oh, how this bitter father blazes with green-eyed ire for his poor son. You have stepped into the head of hubris and hate and painted a linguistic picture that is comedic as well as tragic – not an easy thing to do. That closing stanza could be a case study in psychology – it captures the vindictive mindset of an egomaniac, and the excuses made for such monstrous behavior, in poetry that breathes. Very well done indeed. The pairing of the poems is spot on. “Piano with Burn Marks” provides such a contrast in character. Again, you paint a vivid picture – this one touched my heart with its beauty and humility. Such is the magic you weave throughout, these lines at the end of the poem pricked my eyes with tears, ““Oh hell,” he said. I’ll tell the kid that me /And the pee-ana are a package deal.” Brian, thank you! Reply Brian A. Yapko February 19, 2025 Thank you so much, Susan! You really identified some of my tricks of the trade here — particularly that opening waltz beat of 1-2-3- which I used to ease the reader into a non-iambic scheme without their having to be any ambiguity around it. But of course, the subject matter practically screamed for it! Very glad you enjoyed the “melodious spite” (I love that phrasing!) and you understand the monstrous nature of this man very well indeed. You give the opportunity to mention the title of the piece: Strauss Vater which, of course, means Strauss Senior or Father in German. But for me the “Vater” gave me a subtle opportunity to suggest Vader… as in Darth Vader. Who is another infamously unpleasant father. I’m really thrilled that you liked “Piano with Burn Marks.” This one moved me in the writing. My grandfather lived in the Bronx so it was easy for me to imagine a similar character as an old musician who loved his piano more than his own safety. I don’t generally fancy promoting an overattachment to “stuff” but every so often there is some object that comes along that we may cherish to the point where we would grieve if something happened to it. For that reason, I believe it would have been a sin to separate Pops Stein from his beloved piano. That package deal mattered. Thank you so much, Susan, for your supportive words and allowing me an opportunity to explain a bit. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Roy Eugene Peterson February 16, 2025 What a great poem and story about the father of the greatest Johann Strauss! I recognize your great love for music from previous associations and you have composed an overture that waltzed through my mind while reading it. I was fortunate in life to have attended a summer waltz concert beside the Danube with my family in a Viennese open-air park. It was magical. “The Piano with Burn Marks” similarly was an enchanting loving tale fired with care and singed with empathy. The uneven spacing of rhyme was like an out of tune piano and contributed to the aura of the poem. Reply
Brian A. Yapko February 17, 2025 Thank you very much indeed, Roy. I love hearing your about your many travels. I’ve been to Vienna twice and would have loved to attend a concert by the Danube. I’ve been lucky enough to attend two Mozart-related concerts at the Musikverein (not their famous New Year’s concert). As is traditional at Vienna’s annual concert of Strauss-related music, the performance ended with Strauss Jr.’s Blue Danube Waltz and then Strauss Sr.’s Radetzky March. Whether Johann Sr. and Johann Jr. like it or not, their legacies are inextricably entwined. I appreciate your kind words about “Piano With Burn Marks” and especially enjoyed your vivid description of it. Reply
Cheryl A Corey February 16, 2025 The subject of this poem is very intriguing. I’ve always loved Strauss waltzes, but was unfamiliar with the father/son rivalry. Very clever rhymes of “en masse” with “My ass”, and “sleep well” with “mach schnell”. Reply
Brian A. Yapko February 17, 2025 Thank you very much, Cheryl. I was also unfamiliar with that rivalry until I saw an old Disney movie from 1963 (when Disney was respectable) called “The Waltz King.” I was very skeptical of the conflict it depicted between Strauss Sr. and Jr. and decided to research it further only to find that it was all true! Strauss Sr. was a horrible father who really did do his best to sabotage his son’s career. I appreciate the kind words about the rhymes. Writing them made me laugh. I did not want to turn this into a comic poem, but the over-the-top jealousy of Strauss Sr. of his own son in the end struck me as funny as it was unnatural. Senior completely undermined his own dignity and I thought that might come out in some of the word choices. Reply
jd February 16, 2025 Enjoyed both poems, especially the second with its happy ending. Both are outstanding as always but the first is so sad. Reply
Brian A. Yapko February 17, 2025 Thank you very much, jd. Isn’t that interesting that you found the first one sad rather than the second? But you are right! Pops Stein in “Piano” is secure in who he is and is happy so long as he gets to play his piano. No relationships were harmed by his ego or his love of music. It is the exact opposite with Strauss Senior who may have been a great composer, but a bad father, an ungracious musician and a man whose insecure ego cannot allow him to share glory with his own son. He preferred an estrangement from his son rather than to share the limelight. And he is incapable of being honest with himself. There is a comical aspect to his egomanical rant, but you’re so right — what he does is terribly sad. Reply
Joseph S. Salemi February 16, 2025 The “Strauss Vater” dramatic monologue does what the genre is best at doing — showing a personality, a mind, and a soul by having the speaker recount an event and a conflict. Browning was superb at this sort of thing, and Yapko is clearly in the same class. The behavior of Strauss Senior is self-revelatory, and unconsciously self-damning, just as in “My Last Duchess.” Here Strauss Senior comes off as insanely hostile towards his own son, and filled with psychopathic resentment at the younger man’s talent. This shows an Oedipal conflict so deeply rooted that it is on the verge of violence. Most fathers are pleased if their sons share their interests, and happily encourage it. The fact that Strauss Junior surpassed his father’s reputation must have been rankling to the elder man. The tetrameter ABBA quatrains for a dramatic monologue are unexpected, but they work well. In a couple of cases (the seventh and the tenth quatrains) the BB rhymes end feminine, and I think that is deliberate, because they deal with the command that the son not study music, and the rage of the father that he has been disobeyed. “Piano with Burn Marks” is an excellent narrative piece, but it is also a character study of the old man. I think it is Yapko’s deep interest in the dramatic monologue form that lies behind this — the old man is quoted directly only a few times, but much of the narrative is given in such a way as to sound like a substitute for directly quoted speech. I like the poem’s sporadic rhyming, which suggests the random tinkling of someone at a piano keyboard, hitting a key here and there, as if testing the instrument. One minor thing: I believe that the name of the Viennese casino was Dommayer’s, with a double /m/, but I might be wrong about that. The spelling of German names varied quite a bit in the 19th century. Reply
Brian A. Yapko February 17, 2025 Thank you very much indeed, Joe, for your extremely generous comments. As you know, I am a big Browning fan and much-influenced by him so to be mentioned in the same sentence as him is the greatest honor I could hope for. I love writing dramatic monologues. They allow me a huge variety of subjects and voices and for someone who also loves history, such pieces are a wonderful way to combine interests and to play with different uses of language and form. I love your description of Strauss Senior as “insanely hostile.” It’s so true that it strikes me as almost funny — hence the mildly salty language he uses. I did indeed want the structure of the poem to be a bit unusual so that it would be poetry in the form of a waltz playing faster and faster losing all semblance of control or beauty. The a-b-b-a rhymes allowed the piece to seem restrained within “measures” but in a way that was illusory — the musical equivalent of that tense lockjaw that a performer has in front of a large audience when he is experiencing something overwhelming and yet trying to hold it together until he gets off-stage. Once the restraint of this poem is over, I can imagine Strauss Senior letting loose and smashing things against the wall. Your analysis of “Piano With Burn Marks” is spot-on. I originally conceived of it as a dramatic monologue and found that it didn’t work. As I saw it, it needed not only an interlocutor but an interpreter. There’s no way Pops Stein could have talked about how injuries from the fire required skin-grafts and cost him his ear without it descending into self-pity. That was the last thing I wanted from this character, so this had to become a narrative with dramatic monologue elements. Your understanding of this is so perceptive. As is your interpretation of the one rhyme per stanza set at arbitrary lines. I very much like your thought of it as an occasional tinkling of the keys. That fits in well with my conception of this as an echo line which suggested that the present contained only a distant echo of a musically rich past. In a way, structure itself has eroded in concert with Pops life. And thank you for the Dommayer’s correction. Good catch! Mike has fixed it for me. Reply
Mark Stellinga February 16, 2025 Brian, have you ever thought of taking a shot on “Jeopardy”? As well versed as you are on a great number of out-of-the-ordinary subject matters, I’ve no doubt you would snag a serious pile of $$$! A very intense and interesting bit of history, this one, and the next – extremely moving. Both very special in their own way. Reply
Brian A. Yapko February 17, 2025 Thank you so much, Mark! Jeopardy used to be my favorite show. But when Alex Trebek died I lost all interest. Still, thanks for the vote of confidence! I do love history and trivia associated with it. And I’m very glad you liked the poems. Reply
Gigi Ryan February 16, 2025 Brian, Perhaps I would have learned more history growing up if I could have learned it through your verses. Thank you for this lesson. I will remember it next time I hear a piece by Johann Strauss Jr. Gigi Reply
Brian A. Yapko February 17, 2025 Thank you so much, Gigi! I’m glad my historical pieces have piqued your interest. I should mention that the history associated with Classical Music is rich and engaging. And every great composer has an interesting story to tell. Reply
Julian D. Woodruff February 16, 2025 These are both great, Brian. “Vater” is much in the same vein as the Leoncavallo-Puccini poem I had posted recently, but Vater’s rage is more irrational than L’s, since he can’t justify his own employment & career as a cafe musician if he says that he wants to protect his son from uncertainties of such a life. And I’m sure the denial of Sohn’s genius was even more a feat of self-delusion than was my poem’s L’s, even though Sohn was only 20 at the time. The carefully maintained triple meter echoes the waltzes of Vater & of his heyday–more familiar, probably, than Vater’s works are some of Schubert’s waltzes and the Diabelli waltz that became the subject of Beethoven’s 33 Variations–rather than the syncopated lilt we know from Sohn’s. (As for Sohn’s talent, there’s a marvelous testimonial you may know of. He invited Brahms to dinner one evening & asked him to inscribe his musician’s guestbook. The normal response would have been to write a line from his one of his own compositions and then subscribe it, perhaps with a word or two. Brahms scrawled the 1st few bars of the opening melody of The Blue Danube, and added “unfortunately not by Brahms.” Pops & the peeana is an affecting narrative told with lots of vivid touches. (You know, perhaps, of the German-American violinist Augustin Hadelich, whose face was horribly disfigured in a fire when he was young. Despite that misfortune and years of reconstructive surgery, he has built a career as one of the leading concert artists of the day.) Reply
Brian A. Yapko February 17, 2025 Thank you so much, Julian! When I read your Leoncavallo poem I was ticckled at how we had both independently come to write of composers demonstrating some unflattering character flaws — ego and jealousy. I don’t know if you saw my comment on your poem but I enjoyed it very much! Yes, Vater’s rage is far more irrational and, dare I say, unnatural. As Joe above observes, most fathers are happy when their children share their interests and are successful – even among musicians. “Doe & Sons” is the usual parental dream. Imagine Leopold Mozart being competitive with Wolfgang! Or the Bach dynasty of composers trying to stifle the creativity of the next generation! Strauss Senior was uniquely petty. I’ve heard that beautiful story of Brahms and Strauss. They were, as I understand it, friends and I would have loved to have tagged along to hear them discuss music and their respective projects. You may quibble with me over this, but I think Brahms was the more ambitious artistically while Strauss Jr. was more fun. It is interesting to contemplate that they are buried within only few paces of each other at the composer’s corner of the Central Cemetery in Vienna. Lastly, thank you, Julian, for introducing me to Augustin Hadelich. I have never heard of him before and looked up his story and his music. His violin virtuosity is amazing and his story truly inspiring. Now that I know of him I intend to listen to more of his exceptional music. Reply
Julian D. Woodruff February 17, 2025 Brian Thanks for alerting me here to your comment on my L poem. I’ve now read it and responded there. On the destiny of composers, it isn’t always easy: Schubert, despite his family’s musicality, was supposed to have been a teacher, Handel, among numerous others, a lawyer. Mozart senior was supportive to a point, but nagged his son not to give up the violin. (He didn’t, actually, but the piano became his sole performing medium as a professional.) On Strauss vs. Brahms, you have point. Not at all that Brahms lacked a sense of humor, but for most it’s a bit illusion. (He described the middle of the 1st mvt. of his 3rd Violin Sonata as a portrayal of himself sneaking through the shrubbery in the Prater with a willing Fraeulein.)
Warren Bonham February 18, 2025 Fantastic storytelling in both. I’m not at all musically inclined but I am a father of sons. I’m completely baffled by the behavior of Strauss Sr. Perhaps if we had a trace of genius in our genes things might be different but I’d like to think not. I did find a parallel in the world of science. Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782) surpassed his father in brilliance at a young age. His father went so far that he stole some of Daniel’s work and published it as his own in an attempt to maintain his position as the most brilliant of the Bernoulli’s. His treachery against his son didn’t work and Daniel’s genius is acknowledged to this day. Baffling. Reply
Brian A. Yapko February 18, 2025 Thank you so much, Warren! While we commonly regard parents like Strauss Senior as unnatural (although history can probably cite us some royal regents who would also quality) it seems rather common to consider sibling rivalries: hatred and sabotage between brothers, sisters or combos thereof going all the way back to Cain and Abel, but stopping along the way for Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers, Cleopatra and Ptolemy, Richard the Lionheart and King John, Mary and Elizabeth Tudor, the Brontes, through to Edwin and John Wilkes Booth, right down to Dear Abby and Ann Landers. Blood is no guaranty of love and support and sometimes quite the opposite. I am fascinated by the story of Daniel Bernoulli and his father. It’s exactly on point. About as sad as it gets. And, yes, baffling. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant February 18, 2025 Brian, I fully appreciate the effort that has gone into these two thoroughly engaging poems. There are so many delightful highlights, I am hard pressed to choose a starting point… the beginning will work! I am in awe of the “one-two-three, one-two… When I write a waltz” opening line of “Straus Vater” – your guiding hand had me instantly tuned in to the beat and waltzed me effortlessly to the scathing last stanza in a swirl of melodious spite that made me breathless. Oh, how this bitter father blazes with green-eyed ire for his poor son. You have stepped into the head of hubris and hate and painted a linguistic picture that is comedic as well as tragic – not an easy thing to do. That closing stanza could be a case study in psychology – it captures the vindictive mindset of an egomaniac, and the excuses made for such monstrous behavior, in poetry that breathes. Very well done indeed. The pairing of the poems is spot on. “Piano with Burn Marks” provides such a contrast in character. Again, you paint a vivid picture – this one touched my heart with its beauty and humility. Such is the magic you weave throughout, these lines at the end of the poem pricked my eyes with tears, ““Oh hell,” he said. I’ll tell the kid that me /And the pee-ana are a package deal.” Brian, thank you! Reply
Brian A. Yapko February 19, 2025 Thank you so much, Susan! You really identified some of my tricks of the trade here — particularly that opening waltz beat of 1-2-3- which I used to ease the reader into a non-iambic scheme without their having to be any ambiguity around it. But of course, the subject matter practically screamed for it! Very glad you enjoyed the “melodious spite” (I love that phrasing!) and you understand the monstrous nature of this man very well indeed. You give the opportunity to mention the title of the piece: Strauss Vater which, of course, means Strauss Senior or Father in German. But for me the “Vater” gave me a subtle opportunity to suggest Vader… as in Darth Vader. Who is another infamously unpleasant father. I’m really thrilled that you liked “Piano with Burn Marks.” This one moved me in the writing. My grandfather lived in the Bronx so it was easy for me to imagine a similar character as an old musician who loved his piano more than his own safety. I don’t generally fancy promoting an overattachment to “stuff” but every so often there is some object that comes along that we may cherish to the point where we would grieve if something happened to it. For that reason, I believe it would have been a sin to separate Pops Stein from his beloved piano. That package deal mattered. Thank you so much, Susan, for your supportive words and allowing me an opportunity to explain a bit. Reply
