The Bass Saxophone: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Bass Saxophone: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the intricate dynamics of a small jazz scene set against the backdrop of Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. The central figure is a young Czech musician who becomes captivated by a rare bass saxophone, leading him into a concert for the occupying forces. Disguised to avoid recognition by fellow Czechs, he grapples with his passion for music amidst the looming threat of political repercussions. His experience highlights a conflict between personal desires and societal pressures, encapsulated by his encounter with Horst Hermann Kühl, a Nazi official who symbolizes fear and authority. Another key character, Lothar Kinze, is the disillusioned leader of the orchestra, representing the complex reality of artistic expression under oppression. Additionally, the regular bass saxophone player, known for a pivotal performance, serves as a catalyst for the narrator's confrontation with discomfort and memory. Together, these characters illustrate the tensions between art, identity, and survival in a time of crisis.
The Bass Saxophone: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Josef Škvorecký
First published: Bassaxofon, 1967 (English translation, 1977)
Genre: Novella
Locale: A hotel in Kostelec, a Czech town in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
Plot: Satire
Time: The 1940's
The narrator, a male jazz musician in Kostelec, a small town in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. the eighteen-year-old Czech dandy and jazz saxophonist is swept into a band concert for the Nazi occupation forces by his fascination with a beautiful rare bass saxophone. Wearing a false mustache to escape recognition by other Czechs, he dons the green, purple, and orange costume of Lothar Kinze's German orchestra in order to play the bass saxophone. His personal passion for music overcomes his fear of political reprisals. Interrupted and unmasked, he flees the hotel concert hall, but the secret experience remains for him an emblem of his youth and the mysteries of life.
Horst Hermann Kühl, a Nazi official in Kostelec. Kühl once confiscated one of the narrator's jazz records when it was accidentally broadcast in the cinema. Although the narrator suffered no prosecution for his offense, he continues to suffer from fear of Kühl and his power. Kühl attends the concert by Kinze's orchestra.
Lothar Kinze, the leader of and violin player for a small German orchestra traveling by bus through occupied territories. A seedy refugee from circus performances, Kinze recruits the narrator to replace his ill saxophonist.
The man on the gilded bed, the regular bass saxophone player in Lothar Kinze's orchestra. Interrupting the narrator's performance, he takes the stage in a stirring performance that elicits the ire of Kühl and burns itself into the memory of the narrator, a moment of pain that shakes complacency.