What is a masterpiece? Originating from the 16th century Dutch word meesterstuk (or meisterstück in German), its definition stands today as “a person’s greatest piece of work, as in art.” However, historically a masterpiece was a piece made by a person aspiring to the rank of master in a guild or other craft organization as proof of competence, thereby allowing them to open private business instead of continuing work as a journeyman under the tutelage of another master. Therefore, some might classify any work beyond the intangible level of “journeyman” to be a masterpiece by definition. However, by our standards today, masterpiece implies a much deeper meaning than that and a number of components are expected to be present in any such musical masterpiece.
David Dubal, an internationally known pianist, teacher, writer, and broadcaster as well as a well known authority on piano literature, describes that a masterpiece is a work which evokes that which he calls aesthetic ecstasy or aesthetic rapture. In his lecture at the Aspen Ideas Festival in 2006 he goes on to describe aesthetic rapture as the most important of rewards that a person can receive from art; a significant emotional response that is a thrill on multiple levels which may include, but is not limited to, the emotional, the intellectual, and the erotic.
According to Dubal, a masterpiece brings forth form and beauty from chaos. Life is, by its very nature, a perpetual pandemonium, and a masterpiece being as nearly flawless as is humanly possible organizes that chaos into perceivable and aesthetically enjoyable form. Masterpieces, in this way, are both of the organic stuff of life as well as being tempered by a spark of the divine. Many composers through history have come to realize this connection:
“Almost all great composers understood that Bach was the height. Casals would open every morning with his prayer; the prayer of playing six preludes and fugues of Bach. Stravinsky did the same. Brahms never even had breakfast until he played “The Well-Tempered Clavier”. And yet it wasn’t even published until 1801, 50 years after its creation.”
- David Dubal
Dubal’s assertion of purity of form as the cornerstone of the definition of masterpiece is not a new idea. This strain of thinking goes all the way back to Plato in his Republic. Using his master Socrates as a vehicle for initiating thought, Plato introduces the Theory of Forms, which becomes an integral part of Platonism and ultimately the grand assumption upon which his entire philosophy is based (much to Nietzsche’s exasperation). But all arguments aside as to whether “the corrupter” deserved his hemlock, the Theory of Forms remains a much discussed topic in philosophy today and, as Dubal would postulate, is applicable to analysis and value judgment of music. Thus, for a work to be considered a masterpiece, then it must hearken to the purest form of art (Plato might see this as akin to his Form of the Good). In its near flawlessness, a masterpiece evokes aesthetic rapture through pure form and thus brings some order to an otherwise chaotic existence.
The argument on the definition of masterpiece is long standing and one not likely to be settled anytime soon. Some definitions are more simple, others exhaustingly elaborate and restrictive. Let us take Bach’s Das Wohltemperierte Klavier for example. Today there are few who would not claim The Well-Tempered Clavier among the greatest masterpieces of the Baroque period. I count myself among those who praise this particular work as a masterpiece, but if it were not for Felix Mendelssohn, J.S. Bach’s entire catalogue and reputation may have continued to languish in obscurity and faded entirely to be ultimately lost among the debris of history. Yet, today, it resides amongst the most played collections of piano music of all time. Perhaps this is what truly defines a masterpiece. J.S. Bach died in 1750, but either by the admiration of a later composer or by the virtue inherent in his composition, Bach’s work survives today, 262 years after his death. Perhaps that is not only the model by which we measure a masterpiece, but of the master. Ultimately, it is one’s legacy that must either live on in this world or die in obscurity. This is life’s greatest test.
