Der Baron von B.

Baron von B., Der, a short anecdotal story by E. T. A. Hoffmann, first published in 1819 in the Allgemeine Musik-Zeitung. Hoffmann included it in vol. 3 of his collection Die Serapionsbrüder (1820). It describes a baron of immense musical knowledge and taste, who falsely believes himself to be a great violinist. It illustrates the gulf which can separate the critical and the creative.