mefistofeles

Updated: May 23, 2025

From Tschaikowsky's title, we must look for the awful gloom of the cavernous hall of Arimanes, Byron's "Prince of Earth and Air." The gray figure from most ancient myth is not less real to us than Mefistofeles in "Faust." At least we clearly feel the human daring that feared not to pry into forbidden mysteries and refused the solace of unthinking faith.

Philip H. Goepp - Symphonies and Their Meaning; Third Series, Modern Symphonies