Wednesday, February 02, 2011
André Mathieu
A gifted boy child who was hampered in his progress; an angelic face that was, most likely, the target of jealousy from many other parties that he encountered through his formative period and onwards... A tragic case of unfulfilled potential - or, at least, untapped to its fullest. This is what André Mathieu has been described as - and most of it is undeniably true. Most of it hits a personal chord with so many of us, too...
While it is true that his works remain, and that his genius is recognized enough, now, so that his name is renowned and better known presently than it was when he was an adult composer struggling to shed his image of "one-time child genius" which equated, basically, to being described as a lucky brat that never really paid his dues... Even if it is true that a famed-enough concert hall bears his name (in my old hometown of Laval) and that everyone has, therefore, heard his name at one time or another - nothing can erase the fact that when he needed it the most, be it fame, recognition or quite simply a helping hand, he did not get it. And for that the entire artistic community in his old stomping grounds can be forever bitterly ashamed as they are totally responsible.
Some, like that illustrious radio-host with the remarkable laughter and recognizable white beard (or vice-versa) or past loves, who knew him and therefore know all the facts, have said that André Mathieu became such a tragic story due to his own "inhibition of action" - that he tried, but could not make a truly progressive move towards full realization of his tremendous potential. Others, more idealistic or simply fatalistic, see in all this just a sign that, ultimately, IT WASN'T MEANT TO BE... André was not, after all, Amadeus - at best, other composers have said, he was their Gershwin. Which is already a lot and should have been recognized much sooner than that - while André Mathieu still lived.
Ultimately, perhaps one could see here confirmation of my own theory - my theory of names. Everyone named alike shares a similar fate, is either equally miserable or equally fortunate in life. Just in that grimy town of Montreal alone, where Andrés abound, we can see a pattern developing with the tragic stories of several rebel hearts such as André "Dédé" Fortin of Les Colocs fame (a totally different kind of musician) as well as the iconic Frère André and frequent visitor André The Giant (although, to be fair and honest, both were originally named differently - to their own detriment, they adopted the name André for two completely different reasons as well - and along with that came the heartache associated with it. But those are other stories, for other blogs... Mathieu shall suffice for the tragic quota this time out - agreed?)
André Mathieu is now hailed as the Child Prodigy of Québec - as the movie based upon his life story is entitled "L'Enfant Prodige" indeed.
Truth is, his detractors, whether they are around to say it or not, would still dub it the "Privileged Child" - as in the child that was born to a composer who molded him in his image very early on, surrounded him with the appropriate toys for the objective that was set (a piano and musical sheets instead of Tonka trucks and action figures) and proceeded, with draconian discipline, to make the boy's life a living hell from the tender age of five years-old...
Despite all that, he grew up to become a rather brutal, rough-around-the-edges, anything-but-mild-mannered misfit of a musician; truly paradoxically. He was prone to drink too much and womanize - not at all what he needed to be in order to be acclaimed and proclaimed as the genius composer that he was supposed to be.
Me, I see a lot of Tchaikovsky in him too; thankfully without certain particular traits... Rebellious, rampageous and even obnoxious at times, the boisterous André was doomed to be ostracized from the very get-go...
And he didn't even have to lose his boyhood looks in order to be set on that devastating path either...
Rest in Peace, André Mathieu
May you play your melancholic music in a place of Light, not of darkness...
Until the Day of Reckoning
+++
Labels: commemorative, music, YouTube
