The Majority's Response to Classical Music

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   Maybe it was my early exposure to a film, Fantasia, or my Mother's love of various genres of music that gave me an opportunity to watch many broadway and off broadway productions involving classical music.  Maybe it was the fact that I had done ballet for 6 years, and had been exposed to many modern compositions.  But whatever the reasoning, since I was young, I had loved classical music.

   For me, classical music had always spoken in ways that dreams alone could speak to me.  The music, itself, gave the power of imagination, where no lyrics could possibly take me.  It is fair to say that some lyrics such as in "Ave Maria" from Schubert and "Hallelujah chorus" from Handel's Messiah, had an enriching religious factor that seems to give resounding power to the music, or perhaps it was the music giving power to the words.  Whatever your take, I have always been a fan of instrumental pieces over clouded lyrics that never seem to do a piece of music much justice.  But as I have mentioned, there are lyrics, for which I would make an exception to my remark.

    YouTube is a website that connects the world with seemingly infinite amounts of videos on an expanding variety of subjects.  One in particular is classical music.  I believe that YouTube is a great platform for people to quickly become exposed to classical music, whether it be eastern Karnatic or Hindustani, to Western European.  And there are many more classical pieces from around the world, which I have not been as exposed to, but are equally as valuable historically.  The point being, that the internet has become a platform in which we can all gain exposure to a dying love of classical music by the majority.  We have only to use a search engine to guide us to this enchanting realm of Classical music.

    But what if we had never heard of some of the great powerhouse composers?  What if we had never gained much of an interest for the subject, and the music did not hold much meaning for us?  We all have our own musical preferences, and certainly it has never been my expectation to force anyone to enjoy classical music!  Rather, it is my goal to expose people to the beauty of classical music, and have you make your own decisions of whether this is something you can or cannot appreciate.  I feel sad knowing that less and less people know about the beauty of these pieces, many of which have inspired the minds of composers and musicians today.

   Does classical music hold the framework and foundation of music today?  I believe it does.  However, with the advancing of technology, it is also possible that more people would rather listen to the synthesizing works of house music over Johannes Brahms' "Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77 - I. Allegro ma non troppo."  And that would be perfectly fine as well.  I, myself, enjoy the possibility of jamming to some house music with friends, so I share your sentiments.  But my point is there is an entire world of music being neglected, and there are not as many people who are trying to preserve this beauty.  It has become an unsaid duty, of mine, to become a person who preserves this culture, though I may not be as knowledgeable as a PhD on the subject.  I have only an undergraduate degree in music that has exposed me deeper into this realm, and I am very thankful for that degree.

   Many warm regards,
   Cheers, your Music Imaginations blogger,
Preeti

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Rondo Alla Turca"

 http://anorakheaven.blogspot.com/2012/07/relax-its-mozart_30.html#.UFVdyo1lQpA

               How can one forget to mention the incredible mind of Mozart?  To say he was a talented performer and composer would be greatly undermining his commitment to music and his tireless years of devotion to his passion.  "Rondo Alla Turca" is one of my favorite pieces.  It is also called the "Turkish Rondo," and Wikipedia mentions how the music portrays Janissary Bands, that had imitated music quite famous at that time.  I listened to a wide range of Janissary Band music, music of the Ottoman Turkish people.  It is interesting how this completely European piece is invoking such a different sound that is played with different musical instruments all together.  It is as if you would try to play an electric guitar for a piece that you would normally expect a sitar to play.  While it may even sound amazing, it is not what you expect.  However, I will still say that Mozart is Mozart.  So his interpretation of Turkish Janissary Bands actually convey its' essence.  I listened to a majority of Janissary band music that was simply slower that sounded more like a vast majority of Ottoman Turkish people marching across lands.  While Mozart's "Rondo Alla Turca" was a quick paced piece that seemed, to me, to convey the celebration and glory of an expanding Ottoman Empire.

    I would hate to degrade an original piece of music with a remixed counterpart, but Adya Classic's version of "Rondo Alla Turca" fixes in some Turkish hues, especially with its' choice of instruments, compared to a very European sounding original piece from Mozart.  For its' time, originality, and character, Mozart's "Rondo Alla Turca" has stood the test of time.  This piece is certainly one of my favorites.

                                                                References
Wikipedia.  Piano Sonata No. 11 (Mozart). (2012, September 16). Retrieved from
             http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Sonata_No._11_(Mozart)

Amy Beach "Romance" for violin/piano

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Amy_Beach_01.jpg

   Little can be articulated when I had first heard this piece.  "Romance" seems to pull at the strings of my heart.  It is the kind of music you anticipate longing for the moments of your one true love, as you glance out of your window.  But instead you find the beginnings of autumn, and the changing of seasons.  There is a bit of confusion of when you will see your love again, but the music offers a kind of hope and reassurance that the time will soon come.
    There are times here the music performs a dance, a tango of emotions.  Tumultuous, passionate, mysterious, and carried along with the moment.  Moving, and singularly a piece that craves you to introspectively reflect on your own emotions.
  The piano and violin harmoniously interact, as two lovers meet, separate, and then rejoin hands and interlock fingers at the end of the piece.  Curtain closes.  But the image is forever in your memory-black out. 

Win Tickets for Opening Night!

http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/season/index.aspx?type=next

  Interested in Opera? The Metropolitan Opera is offering a chance for people to win tickets to their new production of L'Elisir d'Amore!  If interested in this amazing chance to kick off the new 2012-2013 season, refer to the following site:

http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/contests/index.aspx?id=21696&icamp=OpenNightint&iloc=hptab

Music Imagination's Old School Rock Star Award Recipient

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jul/24/israel-chamber-orchestra-wagner-germany

The Old School Rock Star Award

   Music Imaginations' first honoree of the Old School Rock Star Award goes to Wilhelm Richard Wagner for   'Der Ring des Nibelungen'.  His compositions don't accompany the Opera performance, the Opera performance accompanies his music.  His music can infinitely stimulate the temporal lobes of generations to come.  Cheers to you, Sir. 

Erik Satie's "Gnossienne No. 1"

http://zarecords.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/erik-satie-pieces-froides-1897/

                 
 It is hard to be so self-reflective about life without giving importance to the great composer Erik Satie.  His pieces have notes that don't have simple resolutions of a typical musical arrangement.  His notes produce unresolved feelings as the thoughts that are deep in our subconscious.  You find yourself questioning life, and its' not so trivial complexities.  Maybe the feeling is more abstract.  Maybe there are not exact questions you can ask, but just the isolated feeling vexing your mind from within the temporal lobe and beyond.
   Whatever the case is, Erik Satie with his, "Gnossienne No.1," has composed a short, fleeting moment that like deja vu, enters your thoughts, and then is gone in an instant.  Yet the thirst still remains.
    When you give yourself the liberties to hear this song, let your mind twist and turn in many different directions.  Let yourself feel that you have no grasp on anything, let yourself bend reality and the concept that gravity exists.  Understand that you don't have to understand and that the room has been filled more and more of the unknown then it was before you pressed play.  You are listening to the eternal human unanswered questions.

Johannes Brahms' "Piano Concerto No.1 in D Minor, Op.15"

http://ienjoyandyou.blogspot.com/2011/07/johannes-brahms.html

Johannes Brahms' piece, "Piano Concerto No.1 in D Minor, Op. 15," was thought to have been composed in response to the attempted suicide of his good friend, Robert Schumann.  I feel the piece illustrates a vision in my mind of Shumann's suicide attempt over the Rhine river.
    When listening to the piece, the introduction to the piece has dramatic elements that give the sense of desperation of a moment before suicide.  The accelerated heart beat that intensifies inevitably meets the  tumultuous high tide at a glance beyond the rocky .  And the piano interlude that plays is that brief moment of clarity before the eventual fall.
    As the music begins to slow down, I can imagine a young man sleeping in a long boat, with the sun rays glistening over his face, and down his body.  Being sheltered under the watchful branches of a willow tree, dropping its flowers and kissing his cheeks.  He is neither awake nor dead, he is just in a sleep, where he blissfully dreams.
    As the music continues, I can imagine in the man's cloak pocket, along with a pocket watch, is an old photograph of him and a close friend.  That photograph leaves his pocket from the dancing wind that picks it up, and cuts seamlessly through the air; only to return back to the man's pocket.
   The music returns, once again, in dramatic fashion, going back to the man contemplating his own suicide.  He walks slowly backwards from the cliff, with visions of himself over the moors and coastal heights falling slowly off the edge, silently.  A ghost.

A.R.Rahman: A Tribute

http://bollywood.celebden.com/2008/12/ar-rahman-gets-a-golden-globe-nomination/

  So I would like to recognize a composer who has worldwide recognition, A.R.Rahman Ji.  He is my biggest living influence in music today. Some people may not know him, but for the people who do, they know music became redefined by A.R. Rahman.
   Since I was a young girl, I have loved all of his songs.  I can't believe there is such a legend in our lifetime, and it would be my dream to one day meet him.  I wonder how his mind works.  How he so effortlessly is able to incorporate music from so many different cultures, time periods, countries in his compositions.
   His music has inspired so many feelings that make your other senses envy your ears.  But his music is so powerful once it moves to your ears, it is able to bring chills down your whole body.  His music can stand alone, without the need of lyrics.  It is so deep and full of color, that there are infinite stories through his compositions.  However, it must be noted that the lyrics with his compositions are usually very elegantly written and full of meaning.
    To say A.R.Rahman Sir is a good composer is a complete understatement.   Rahman Ji brings magic to the music, and resurrects the notes off of the staff.  

Johann Sebastian Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor"

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Johann_Sebastian_Bach.jpg 

     The way I would like to go about these blog posts is to describe my personal experiences with musical pieces and what imaginations they have inspired in me.  It is important for me to recognize Disney's "Fantasia," which has introduced music through the means of animation.  I was simply enchanted and enamored with classical music.  Of the several pieces that had inspired me through the movie, the one that has influenced me the most today is Johann Sebastian Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor."
   Personally, I see this piece as one of the most resonating, dramatic, and influential pieces of classical music.  It is the echoing conversation of notes, with the fugue drawing more inspiration like the steady increments of waves rising by a nearby harbor.  The dexterity and transitioning required by the hands to perform tocatta is what is an art form of its own.  The pipe organist expecting to create music for listeners has instead created a beckoning feeling that will draw deep, dark, unknown emotions which only a forbidden memory can only do.
   To call what Johann Sebastian Bach has composed, a piece, is reducing its' level to mere sheet music.  What he has created is an entity that has inspired music still today.  There is something quite profound about J.S. Bach.

Music Imaginations Introduction

   Hello Everyone, welcome to my blog Music Imaginations. My name is Preeti Shah, and  I am a person who loves sharing music I have discovered with others.  I feel like this is the best place to share my passions with you through Google blogger.  I am a big fan of music throughout world history.  I enjoy classical European, Classical Hindustani, and World Fusion, but I have a big appreciation of music throughout the world and how it shaped history, and how history shaped music.  I have received my B.A. in Fine Arts with a concentration in Music.  And although I am studying to become a Physical Therapist now, I have a soft spot for this subject.  So please join me in exploring the world's history of music.

  Lots of love to my family, my music teachers, and people who have influenced me creatively.  To everyone viewing this blog, I hope you enjoy this new perspective of how I love some of the classic pieces of history.
With love Preeti