I listened to classical music for four hours straight during my drive to
First I had Beethoven’s Third thundering through my speakers. It was of course fantastic. I’ve never had the drive out to Sugarland be so dramatic. By the time the fourth movement came around the plastic molding was shuttering from the horns alone.
I was so keyed up I put in Dvorak’s Ninth. This was perfect for the thunderstorm I drove through all the way through to
After that, things quieted down a bit. I listened to Schubert’s Unfinished symphony and then stopped to get a milkshake in Edna.
After that it was Bach’s fugues all the way to Refugio. I love his fugues as performed on an organ. I’m not just saying that either. They are by far the most played of my classical rotation. Truly, they are sublime. It is amazing to hear the voices toss the theme about and contort it into different shapes colors. This is done to each voice simultaneously while being played against eachother. It is said that Bach would even play fugues as a game. Someone would give him a theme or short musical phrase and he would improvise an ENTIRE fugue in real time. Essentially He would play the same theme against itself and transposed and in every which way and (now here is the kicker) he made it sound good. It’s like playing four games of chess simultaneously and winning.
The cool thing is you don’t have to be a genius to appreciate it. I think your brain vaguely knows something clever is going on as all the notes subconsciously fit into the original theme construct and make sense in the larger musical work.
So yes Bach is my favorite composer. However, my favorite piece of music ever is Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. I think it is the most moving and beautiful music ever written.
5 comments:
If you enjoy the NInth, I thought you might also appreciate this film I am working on. www.followingtheninth.com
All the best,
kerry
venice, ca
Jose, I'm a friend of Sarah's from when she was at Tech. I'm Carter's dad. I wanted to relate a story about the ninth. Back in the 80's Robert Shaw took the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus to East Berlin to perform the 9th there. The ensemble was too big for the stage and some of the sopranos and altos ended up sitting in the balcony on either side (the balcony came right up to the stage). Of the text is about joy and freedom and they were singing it in German. It became one of the most memorable performances ever for the singers because as the music went on the audience members began to weep. The singers said it was pretty difficult to maintain enough composure to sing when the audience members who were literally sitting right next to the women in the balcony were sobbing in such emotional distress.
Jose, I'm a friend of Sarah's from when she was at Tech. I'm Carter's dad. I wanted to relate a story about the ninth. Back in the 80's Robert Shaw took the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus to East Berlin to perform the 9th there. The ensemble was too big for the stage and some of the sopranos and altos ended up sitting in the balcony on either side (the balcony came right up to the stage). Of the text is about joy and freedom and they were singing it in German. It became one of the most memorable performances ever for the singers because as the music went on the audience members began to weep. The singers said it was pretty difficult to maintain enough composure to sing when the audience members who were literally sitting right next to the women in the balcony were sobbing in such emotional distress.
Jose, I'm a friend of Sarah's from when she was at Tech. I'm Carter's dad. I wanted to relate a story about the ninth. Back in the 80's Robert Shaw took the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus to East Berlin to perform the 9th there. The ensemble was too big for the stage and some of the sopranos and altos ended up sitting in the balcony on either side (the balcony came right up to the stage). Of the text is about joy and freedom and they were singing it in German. It became one of the most memorable performances ever for the singers because as the music went on the audience members began to weep. The singers said it was pretty difficult to maintain enough composure to sing when the audience members who were literally sitting right next to the women in the balcony were sobbing in such emotional distress.
Thanks for that awesome story Dr. G!
I'm a classical music new-comer but there seems something universal to the 9th.
By the way, do you recommend other symphonies for beginners? I have Dvorak's 9ths and basically all of Beethovens...
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