Think You Don't Like Classical Music? You Already Like It Better Than You Realize
Give a listen and see if you change your mind:
I recently had a good friend tell me she just didn’t care for classical music.
I was surprised by her comment. She is an accomplished, well-educated woman. It seemed like such a sweeping dismissal of a genre, I have to admit, I may more appreciate than enjoy myself. I can't say I spend my days and nights listening to nothing else, but there are some pieces that are so full of emotion and imagination, I consider them among my favorites on a list of all kinds of music.
I was compelled to ask my friend what she thought “classical music” was? Like most of us, she had a hard time putting her finger on a definition. I decided I would make her a play list of some of my favorite selections. Then I remembered HubPages, the perfect venue for just such a list, not only for my friend, but also for the pleasure of my Hub followers.
My appreciation of this kind of music began in fourth grade. I was living in Tempe, Arizona, where the public school system had the foresight to offer a music appreciation course to augment their regular curriculum. We were given about ten pieces of classical music to listen to and absorb. At the end of a period of six weeks or so, if we could name the piece when it was played, spell it correctly along with the composition it was from and the composer, we were rewarded with a live concert at the nearby high school where we got to hear the music performed by a live orchestra. How wise those educators were! Fourth graders learned to love this kind of music before they were old enough to find out it wasn’t cool.
Recently my five-year-old grandson walked into his mother’s bedroom, looked at a poster on her wall, and asked, “Is that a Monet?” She was flabbergasted. Apparently his Kindergarten teacher held a class on art, and these little kids now knew a Monet when they saw one. Amazing. Good for those five-year-olds. Good for that teacher. Now just add a little Bach.
I have the same intentions in offering this hub as a sampling of some of my favorite “classical” pieces of music. I know, for the purists out there, not all these selections adhere to the strict definition of that genre. But it’s my list. I get to choose this time.
Enjoy.
You may remember this version from the old Tom and Jerry Cartoon
Fanfare for the Common Man – Aaron Copland
Or if you prefer:
Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends – Ladies and Gentlemen – Emerson Lake and Palmer
