Nobody has ever written about classical music like Henry Miller. If you have a Spotify account, enjoy this two-hour mix we made with inspiring writing music from Miller’s most famous books: Tropic of Cancer, Plexus, Nexus and Black Spring.
Here is Miller writing about Beethoven’s “String Quartet No. 15” in Black Spring: “I hear again now the music of the A Minor Quartet, the agonized flurries of the strings. There’s a madman inside me and he’s hacking away, hacking and hacking until he strikes the final discord. Pure annihilation, as distinguished from lesser, muddier annihilations. Nothing to be mopped up afterwards. A wheel of light rolling up to the precipice–and over into the bottomless pit. I, Beethoven, I created it! I, Beethoven, I destroy it!”
Follow this link to get a Spotify invite for the free service. Once you have an account, check out our Henry Miller Spotify Playlist and our Haruki Murakami Spotify Playlist. We love making music mixes, so we will create more playlists for writers. If you have more ideas for a particular playlist, you can always add your suggestions in the comments section–we will update our mix.
Henry Miller Playlist
Ludwig van Beethoven – Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, Op. 132: I. Assai Sostenuto – Allegro
Ludwig van Beethoven – Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, Op. 132: II. Allegro ma non Tanto
Ludwig van Beethoven – Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, Op. 132: III. Molto Adagio
Ludwig van Beethoven – Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, Op. 132: IV. Alla Marcia, Assai Vivace – Piu Allegro – V. Allegro Appasionato
Takács Quartet – Beethoven: String Quartet No.15 in A minor, Op.132 – 4. Alla marcia, assai vivace – Più allegro – Presto
Takács Quartet – Beethoven: String Quartet No.15 in A minor, Op.132 – 5. Allegro appassionato
Manuel Rosenthal – The Poem of Ecstasy, Op. 54
London Symphony Orchestra & Arpád Jóo – Boléro (Ravel)
London Symphony Orchestra, The Ambrosian Singers & Arpád Jóo – Daphnis Et Chloë, Suite No. 2 (Ravel)
London Symphony Orchestra & Arpád Jóo – Pavane Pour Une Infante Défunte (Ravel)
Boris Berman – Piano Sonata No. 2 in G sharp minor, Op. 19, “Sonata-Fantasy” : I. Andante
Boris Berman – Piano Sonata No. 2 in G sharp minor, Op. 19, “Sonata-Fantasy” : II. Presto
Augustin Hadelich – Prokofiev: Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano in D Major, Op. 94b: Moderato
Augustin Hadelich – Prokofiev: Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano in D Major, Op. 94b: Presto
Augustin Hadelich – Prokofiev: Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano in D Major, Op. 94b: Andante
Augustin Hadelich – Prokofiev: Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano in D Major, Op. 94b: Allegro con Brio
John Novacek – Chopin: “Revolutionary” Etude In C Minor, Op. 10, No. 12
Edgar Varèse – Poeme Electronique
Grosses Orchester & Harry Louis Harry – Der Trompeter von Säckingen, Behüt dich Gott