Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Beethoven


I can't help but think of "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" when I see the name 'Beethoven' written anywhere. Pronounced, of course, "Beeth" "Oven".

I've started getting into classical music again. I used to be a frequent listener of the classical music station in Grand Rapids. It was always first or second on my programmed radio stations. I've attended multiple symphonic performances over the years. I've even had some very famous collections given as gifts. Mandy and I donated money to the local classical station last year. Etc, etc, etc.

However, I never really got into it enough to recognize anything but the most famous pieces, though. And over time, I seem to have lost interest in seeking out a good classical music source and trying to discover pieces that really move me (as in "You gotta move it, move it!").

In an attempt to really get to know a couple of the most famous pieces by one of the most famous composer's in history, rather than download the entire discography (symphography?) of every major composer in history, I've only downloaded "Eroica" (Symphony No. 3) and "Pastoral" (Symphony No. 6). If I picked up more than these two selection, I think I would get lost and they would all end up blurring together. I'm hoping this hand-picked approach to reawakening my love for the form will help me get comfortable with one composer's style before I try another. The goal is to be able to hear the differences between the approach to the pieces so I can start to form a basis of opinion (like vs. dislikes) of various composers.

Wish me luck!

PS We're back in GR in 24 hours!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

yay for being on GR!!! Happy to have ya back! Miss u guys!!! Your cuz, Jess