Classical music is a curious thing. Some people obsess over it and dedicate their lives to it, others dabble in it, while others think it incredibly boring. It has been appraised for stirring the deepest emotions in a human being, while it has also ben accused of driving a person to distraction. Why is this? There may be thousands of reasons for such contrasting responses, but I believe the overarching reason for this is that every human being approaches classical music with a unique background and a unique set of experiences, both musical and nonmusical, that contribute to the forming of their own opinions of different genres of music. No two people experience anything the same exact way! However, I believe that within this reason there are two reasons in particular which I think may be combatted and that I would like to address in this post.
One reason may be that the person's ear may lack training in listening to classical music. "Training?" you might ask. Believe it or not, if you are more accustomed to listening to genres of music with a strong and/or heavy beat (E.G. Coldplay and Goo Goo Dolls come to mind) sometimes listening to classical music takes some getting used to, though I assure you classical music can be just as stirring as your average pop or rock band, though perhaps in a different way! Perhaps I'll explore this even further in another post...
A second reason may be that they received a bad first impression through hearing a poor performance of a classical work(s)! This is a terrible shame and is not the fault of the listener but the fault of the performer. I myself began to fall in love with classical music only after I was exposed to a beautiful recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons when I was about 12, though perhaps that is a story for another post. I didn't fall in love with organ music until I heard a stirring performance of Bach's Prelude and Fugue in e minor BWV 533, also known as the "Cathedral" Prelude and Fugue. It was a recording on youtube which I had found during the spring semester of my freshman year, and I was bound and determined to learn this piece someday. I was fortunate enough to find the very same recording again about a week ago. There are several ways of performing this piece, as there are for many pieces of music both classical and non. Some say that the flexibility of a piece of music demonstrates its worth. In the words of Israeli violin virtuoso Ivry Gitlis:
"When someone says, 'Now that's the benchmark performance!' or 'That's how it should be played,' it's an insult to music. It implies that the music is very poor indeed, if there is only one way to play it." -- Ivry Gitlis, Israeli violinist and virtuoso.
(Source: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/education/plan_violin_procedures.html)
There is never only one interpretation for performing a great piece of music, but how a musician interprets a piece can play a key role in forming the first impressions of his/her listeners. For this reason, performances should never be approached haphazardly but with much thought, precision, and even a bit of imagination, the use of one's fantasy! The opinion of your listeners -- love or indifference for Bach, Faure, Beethoven, and the like -- may hang in the balance! A performer needs to learn how to bring his or her audience into their world by bringing out the contour of a line, the resolution of a dissonance, the arrival in a new key, a musical gesture. Getting the notes down is important, yes, but a mechanical matter. Making a piece of music come alive and stir the soul -- now that is the mark of musicianship!
One reason may be that the person's ear may lack training in listening to classical music. "Training?" you might ask. Believe it or not, if you are more accustomed to listening to genres of music with a strong and/or heavy beat (E.G. Coldplay and Goo Goo Dolls come to mind) sometimes listening to classical music takes some getting used to, though I assure you classical music can be just as stirring as your average pop or rock band, though perhaps in a different way! Perhaps I'll explore this even further in another post...
A second reason may be that they received a bad first impression through hearing a poor performance of a classical work(s)! This is a terrible shame and is not the fault of the listener but the fault of the performer. I myself began to fall in love with classical music only after I was exposed to a beautiful recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons when I was about 12, though perhaps that is a story for another post. I didn't fall in love with organ music until I heard a stirring performance of Bach's Prelude and Fugue in e minor BWV 533, also known as the "Cathedral" Prelude and Fugue. It was a recording on youtube which I had found during the spring semester of my freshman year, and I was bound and determined to learn this piece someday. I was fortunate enough to find the very same recording again about a week ago. There are several ways of performing this piece, as there are for many pieces of music both classical and non. Some say that the flexibility of a piece of music demonstrates its worth. In the words of Israeli violin virtuoso Ivry Gitlis:
"When someone says, 'Now that's the benchmark performance!' or 'That's how it should be played,' it's an insult to music. It implies that the music is very poor indeed, if there is only one way to play it." -- Ivry Gitlis, Israeli violinist and virtuoso.
(Source: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/education/plan_violin_procedures.html)
There is never only one interpretation for performing a great piece of music, but how a musician interprets a piece can play a key role in forming the first impressions of his/her listeners. For this reason, performances should never be approached haphazardly but with much thought, precision, and even a bit of imagination, the use of one's fantasy! The opinion of your listeners -- love or indifference for Bach, Faure, Beethoven, and the like -- may hang in the balance! A performer needs to learn how to bring his or her audience into their world by bringing out the contour of a line, the resolution of a dissonance, the arrival in a new key, a musical gesture. Getting the notes down is important, yes, but a mechanical matter. Making a piece of music come alive and stir the soul -- now that is the mark of musicianship!
Bach's Prelude and Fugue in E Minor BWV 5333, Performed by Dutch organist Piet Kee (b. 1927)
Album: "Piet Kee Plays Bach and Buxtehude" produced in 1992 by Chandos.
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