Recently I watched a few old movies, and it was only afterward that I realized what they shared in common. One way or another, they all portrayed artistic liaisons.
"Impromptu" told the romance between the Polish pianist and composer Frederic Chopin and the French writer George Sands. The dramatic rendition of this romance did not touch upon the unhappy ending of this relationship in real life, which according to their contemporaries, contributed to Chopin's premature death.
"Hilary and Jackie" portrayed mostly the relationship between the cellist Jacqueline du Pre and her sister Hilary. But no film about Jacqueline du Pre could omit her marriage to the pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim. Needless to say, their marriage did not end on a high note - she was dying from multiple sclerosis, while he had two kids with another woman, who would become his second wife upon du Pre's death.
"Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky" has perhaps the most fiction built since it was based on a rumor that the Russian composer had an affair with Coco Chanel. This film rendition featured a cold-hearted Chanel having passionate but loveless sex with an equally cold-hearted Stravinsky. Of course it did not lead anyone anywhere.
Our love of music and art often leads to our adoration of the artists. It is not surprising that artists often attract each other. However, I am beginning to wonder if artistic liaisons on average have a higher rate of failure than say, relationships between people who are perhaps more different than alike.
By analogy, perhaps successful marriages can only cope with the success of one partner, which demands the full adoration of the other less successful partner. Artistic liaisons fail more often, likely because neither wants to be in the shadow.
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