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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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Date: August 5th, 2002 01:34 am (UTC)From: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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Date: August 5th, 2002 03:12 am (UTC)From: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.