Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg: His Short Biography and Aesthetic Representation of His Works

that it comes to pass. His notes speak out categorically each time what they are intended to express, and for this very reason his works grant the deep enjoyment of the most intimate feeling, of the most definite emotion, because they never leave the listener in hesitation, where he would have to grope about in his mind for a long time: Which feeling is actually being addressed? Instead, they firmly and truly strike the right chord of sensation.

This steadfastness, this definiteness, and rare truth are also the cause of the consistently certain effect that his compositions produce. They cleanly separate the individual feeling of the moment from every other, and take complete hold of the listener, concentrating themselves each time upon the highest possible individuality, within themselves, and thus, upon striking a chord in the mind, they hit a definite fundamental tone each time, without touching a secondary string or grazing a secondary tone.

This definite language elevates him to the true, consummate artist, who knows how to represent the deepest of his feelings with a single brushstroke, a single movement, in a way that is universally perceptible.