Double bass

Author: (German) Jürgen Thorwald
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-04-01
Features: If "Perfume" is the representative work that brought Jürgen Thorwald fame and recognition, spreading its fragrance around the world, then "Double Bass" is the work that established this literary genius in the German literary scene. In 1981, his debut work immediately drew attention to this late-blooming author. Although it is only a one-act play, it is a masterpiece that has been meticulously crafted over time. It is so profound that many cities in German-speaking countries such as Germany and Switzerland competed to stage this one-act play. It was soon translated into English, French, Finnish, Swedish, Dutch, Hebrew, and Italian. As a result, Jürgen Thorwald solidified his position in the world literary scene. "Double Bass" portrays the inner life of an unsuccessful double bass player in an orchestra. The entire play consists of soliloquies from beginning to end: I have a father who is an official and a mother who is a musician. From a young age, I did not receive much love from my parents. My father hoped that I would follow in his footsteps and become an official, rather than an artist. However, I went against his wishes and became a musician, choosing the double bass—a ugly, heavy, and unassuming instrument—as a form of revenge against my mother. Over the course of my 18-year career as a musician, I developed a complex and contradictory love-hate relationship with the double bass that I spent every day with. At the same time, I poured into the female singer Sarah in the orchestra a painful and conflicted love that I longed for but dared not to express. It is clear that "Double Bass" reflects the author's admiration and appreciation for a life of solitude and loneliness, as well as his deep yearning and desire for a life as pure and simple as water.