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Music
I like some modern music. Well, mostly indie which is not so much modern as 5-10 years ago but never mind. I enjoy a bit of pop every now and then, even nu-metal if it's good. I'm not that keen on Radiohead but I wouldn't rather listen to Aqua instead. So I'm not knocking rock and pop but somehow nothing I've heard has the same power as a really beautiful piece of classical music. Perhaps it's because I'm a mathematician - the complexity holds me as the melodies twist round each other - but then even quite a simple piece can have that quality. I came across my old BBC Proms CD last night which has Faure's Pavane on and was utterly spellbound by it again - haunting and beautiful. I'm also finding that I listen to more of it at work than I used to at Dresdner. I put this down to the fact that I needed to be given energy at Dresdner (Kylie and Puretones on repeat for 4 hours makes you twitchy you know) whereas now I need to have focus and the thing which gives me that most is often classical (this is not to say I'm listening to it all the time, just a lot more that I have for a while).
The other standout piece for me is Beethovens Violin Concerto. I got it on my very first CD with a couple of his violin Romances to go with the CD player my parents bought me for Christmas at 13. I didn't like so much at first but I kept playing the CD because I liked the other pieces and it grew on me. The first movement is 20 minutes long but you'd never know it - listening to the violin soar above the orchestra and out on its own is just breathtaking. There's nothing like it.
The other standout piece for me is Beethovens Violin Concerto. I got it on my very first CD with a couple of his violin Romances to go with the CD player my parents bought me for Christmas at 13. I didn't like so much at first but I kept playing the CD because I liked the other pieces and it grew on me. The first movement is 20 minutes long but you'd never know it - listening to the violin soar above the orchestra and out on its own is just breathtaking. There's nothing like it.
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Including singer-songwriter chicks, right? :)
even nu-metal if it's good.
I'm not certain, but I think that's a contradiction in terms...
Perhaps it's because I'm a mathematician
Possibly. I don't dislike classical music, but except when I'm the one playing it I don't find much of it really grabs me. It may just be that you actually have to listen to classical music, you can't do other things at the same time, and that doesn't really suit me. :)
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Definately. Which reminds me that I've been listening to the Gemma Hayes album and it's really good - thanks :) Are you still coming up for her gig at the Zodiac?
Thats very true actually - you do have to give your full attention to get the best out of it. I do find though that some of the best tracks actually grab my attention forcibly - if I've got Beethoven on while I'm working I'll often have to stop for five mins or so while a really good bit comes on.
BTW, what do you play?
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Probably. I need to check on the availability of the car that evening. I'll drop you an email about it this evening.
I do find though that some of the best tracks actually grab my attention forcibly
Brahms and Bach have a tendency to do that, for me. Not uncoincidentally, they're probably close to the top of my list of favourite composers. :)
BTW, what do you play?
Piano (grade 8) and violin (7), although I hardly played either whilst I was at university so I'm somewhat less proficient than those numbers would indicate, these days.