How could I have thought I was somehow learned, knew the works of the great composers, even to
go as far as to assume some understanding of the history and plight their work
expressed; and yet only today I discover the hauntingly
beautiful New World Symphony of Dvořák.
You see much
(perhaps I’m being a little hard on myself) of what I’ve learned about the
classics can probably be best described as a series of Slumdog Millionaire moments. For example, Mozart’s
Don Giovanni popularized by the 1984 period dram Amadeus film which I loved. My erudition of the classics gets even better; Bo Derek's character listening to Ravel's Boléro tells Dudley Moore that “it's the perfect music to make love to.” in the film 10. Bach’s The B
Minor Mass, perhaps in one of my more scholarly years - reading and much later reviewing (click reviewing to read the book review) Douglas Hofstadter’s
hugely influential tome, Gödel,
Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid came to appreciate a pure language called music. You begin to get the picture…
For me, Dvořák and
the Symphony No. 9 “from the New World,” 2nd
movement brings with it delight somewhat paralleling Dvořák’s gentle, spiritual, uplifting, lyrical and highly optimistic outlook. A joy to listen to.
Incidentally, Neil Armstrong took this symphony to the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission, the first Moon landing in 1969. The Opera Babes used this song's melody in their song "There's a place". "There's a place" was subsequently used in the Schools Spectacular.
Incidentally, Neil Armstrong took this symphony to the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission, the first Moon landing in 1969. The Opera Babes used this song's melody in their song "There's a place". "There's a place" was subsequently used in the Schools Spectacular.
No comments:
Post a Comment