I am taking a detour into the world of classical music today. It has taken me years to understand and appreciate it, so hopefully, this post helps people who might consider it tedious, complicated, complex, dull, or tiring to open their minds and ears to a fantastic world.
Classical music is a genre of music that has been around for centuries. It is known for its sophisticated and intricate melodies and harmonies and is often played by large orchestras. A lot of classical music has been composed for operas. And, as I've done with some of my other posts, putting ourselves in a historical context helps us understand and appreciated it: Most of this music was written by commission by rich people (like kings), so it was not only "cool" to listen to but also a privilege. And today, this is all free to us! Take advantage of it. Because time has "purged" the mediocre music over the years, we have the privilege of being certain that most classical music accessible to us is all amazing.
There is certain classical music that requires time and patience to recognize. Still, there are some that when you listen to, you realize it's been in the background of your life forever, maybe because it was in a movie or maybe because this music is so universal that it is already in our hearts when we are born and when you listen to it there is an immediate connection. For this week's post I am only recommending one part of a long composition written for an opera, hoping to simply open the door to this world:
Because it was not until the early 1900s that music was recorded, people could only listen to it when they went to the orchestra, so the mindset of musicians that compose it was very different. This music was composed to listen live and to truly appreciate it, you must experience it this way. Since we moved to Cleveland, we've had the opportunity to buy season tickets to the orchestra, which has helped me distinguish the different composers, music eras, and even the different compositions from different musicians. Most people know of famous classical composers like Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach, and listening to their music or going to the orchestra to listen to ANY of their music is always a warranty. But there are many, many other composers worth listening to and for this week I chose Tchaikovsky.
Here is also a link to some of my favorite classical music pieces you may enjoy:
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