WHEN THE TONGUES OF FLAME ARE IN-FOLDED / INTO THE CROWNED KNOT OF FIRE

I have now completed my multi-day marathon listening to a complete cycle of Beethoven's string quartets. Among other things, this experience has taught me that I am completely inequipped to write about music of this caliber in any sort of directly responsive, analytical way. My immediate impulse is to write a piece of fiction or parable, but veiling their inadequacy in indirection seems rather cheap (T.S. Eliot, that's a slight dig at you, but its primarily motivated by envy). Therefore, I will say nothing. Except that gosh it makes me want to learn how to play an instrument.

...Although I will say just hearing those late quartet's in sequence was pretty darn sublime.

And... Phase II will involve listening to all of Beethoven's piano sonatas in chronological order. I  found this fascinating series of lectures by Andras Schiff that I'm going to listen to as I go along.

In the mean time, still plugging along in Barry Cooper's Beethoven and reading bits of George Steiner's monograph on Antigones.