My Classical Point of View

Excluding the people I love, second only to writing, music is the most important thing in my life.   I’m not sure I could write without it.  Sure, there are those times I need absolute silence in order to focus on the idea I’m putting onto paper.  However, for the most part, music can ease the writing process, facilitating the desired mood for a particular piece of writing.

A few months back I got the urge to listen Classical music–instrumental is what I was really after, and I did start with some movie soundtracks.  I listened to John Barry‘s soundtrack to Somewhere in Time (starring Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, and Christopher Plummer), which has Rachmaninov ‘s Rhapsody a Theme of Paganini .  This is one of my favorite movies from growing up (based on the equally awesome book, Bid Time Return by Richard Matheson), and I always loved the music in it.  John Barry’s The Old Woman is still one of my favorite pieces of music.

From there, I moved on to Fantasia.  Y’all remember that one right?  I was a Disney Kid, I had to watch it.  I think cartoons are a great way of getting kids in to Classical music.  Come to think of it, I have to track down Fantasia 2000 and watch that again.  Anyways, that movie lead to The Nutcracker and Tchaikovsky.  There, I also found Sleeping Beauty, the ballet.  I knew that the Disney version of Sleeping Beauty based it’s music on the ballet, but I never realized just how much GREAT music they cut! Before I moved on from Tchaikovsky, I also discovered I knew–and loved–his fifth symphony.  It too was used as a basis for another great movie moment from my childhood:  Maytime (staring Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, and John Barrymore), the last opera in the film, Czaritza, is based on Tchaikovsky’s music.

Classical music is everywhere, I find.  Didn’t Mr. Holland try to teach us that?  Thanks Richard Dreyfus; I should have listened to you sooner.  All I’m sayin’ is, those of you out there who think listening to Classical is too boring/old fashioned, like I was before this Classical craving struck me, then stop thinking and start listening.  I promise you’ll find SOMETHING you already know.  The lack of lyric (or understandable lyric in some cases) really helps the writing process.  I find myself giving in to the muse with ease with the aid of such pieces of music.

Chopin‘s Nocturnes shall be next, I think.  Then I’m going to delve into Dvořák … that should be interesting, I’m sure!

1 Comment

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  By Rhiannimated, 16 January 2010 @ 12:19 PM

  I sort of wish there was a thumbs up button on here. I also wish you would post these on facebook still so I know when there is an update

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