Meetings of the Psychoanalytic Association of New York

DISCUSSION: Dr. Martin Blum spoke of the necessity for a "network of idealizations" which make true creativity possible. This network, formed by the "introjection of and identification with idealized parental surrogates," was interfered with, for Strauss, by the excessive dogmatism, frightening temper, and tyrannical control of his father. Although the father was unswerving in his devotion to his prodigy son, he nonetheless drove the latter to the extensive use of de-idealization as a means of protecting his own individuality. This defense led to detachment in object relations and left the composer with no internalized figure capable of sustaining his inspiration. Instead, he took himself as his own object and became an expert at parody. To become inspired, he turned outward to verbal texts that moved him, depicting characters from these texts or else painting portraits of himself in his tone poems. For the rest, he was fascinated by the technical complexities of the orchestra, scoring for ever larger ensembles. It was this attitude that drew him to opera where he could write for characters created by a librettist. Unfortunately, his chosen librettist became, over time, increasingly uninspired, and Strauss's music suffered in consequence. As a man, Strauss was indifferent to the "larger dimensions" of life and eventually became a "kind of music machine," uncritically grinding out endless pages of often meaningless music. Despite his egotism, he had a capacity for humor, was always skeptical in his assessment of his worth as a composer, and preserved a capacity for gentle lyricism that is evident all the way from his earliest work to his "Four Last Songs."

Dr. Melvin Stanger reminded us that psychobiographic inquiry, while exciting and psychoanalytically legitimate, must be undertaken with caution. The works of an artist and some knowledge about their sociohistoric context may offer useful psychoanalytic material, but the limitations of biographical data,