Music that makes me happy

I suspect we each have our own idea about what constitutes wonderful music. That’s cool with me. We don’t have to agree.

I love rock and roll music from the 60’s … I love women’s music from the 60’s and 70’s and 80’s … I love Caribbean music … I love traditional Scottish music … I love “classical” music, classical piano and orchestral music from the past 200 years or so (and from composers today as well). In fact, a good friend of mine is a fellow by the name of Roupen Shakarian who is a life-long, professional composer and musician and conductor. He recently wrote an oboe concerto that premiered (the first live playing of it) oh maybe a year ago. It’s wonderful. Here’s the video below (you can start the video playing and then keep reading while you listen). You might be able to hear a flute/clarinet/violin in the orchestra (or maybe it’s the harp) echoing the main oboe notes. There are three movements, so you might choose to skip through them if this music doesn’t speak to you so much. The first movement reminds me of my own backyard and those perky little brown Douglas Squirrels there … how quick they are! How spry and fast and they STOP! … and then they START! … and then STOP! … and then START! … etc. The second movement is so peaceful, how I feel when I sit out on my back patio early in the evening and watch the world starting to slow down, starting to come to rest. Ah but the third movement, there are still some of those pesky crows out and about in the evening aren’t there? You’ll see a quick view of Roupen at the very end of the video. The very last notes of this piece are exquisite!

And then there’s cellist Jacqueline du Pré (start the video below, then read on), quite possibly the best cellist ever on this planet. She is well-known for playing an extremely difficult Dvořák cello concerto (written in 1894), performed with the London Philharmonic in 1968, at a concert held in tribute to the people of Czechoslovakia days after the Soviet Union invaded that country (sound familiar?). A number of videos of her concerts can be found on YouTube and on Medici.tv. Here’s a video about her.

Another very good friend of mine who owns a home here in the community where I own a home, is a life-long classical pianist. She has played and taught all over the world. Her living room here is still home to her grand piano (that was built in 1918). When she plays it, I feel like I’m in heaven.

The other day I asked her if she could tell me her favorite composer or favorite group of music, some such like that. She instantly replied “Beethoven’s piano sonatas.” There was no hesitation in her answer, and her eyes lit up when she made that reply. So I went home and found all of them online, all of Beethoven’s piano sonatas online, and downloaded all of them to my computer at home. Oh my word they are delicious. Each sonata (there are 32 of them) is comprised of from two to five movements (so there are a total of 104 movements, tho some websites claim there are 113 or more movements). Of course, I like some movements better than others.

My most favorite of these piano sonatas is the first movement of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14, Opus 27, no. 2, the Moonlight Sonata. The first movement of that sonata is likely the most popular for many people, with reason I think. It has a haunting, dreamlike melody … like the mysterious reflection of the moon on a lake on a dark, dark night.

On the other hand, the third movement of that same sonata above is also wonderful.

And yet another favorite is the third movement (a scherzo) from Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 15, Opus 28. It’s just so sweet and fun, makes me smile and makes me relax. This link is just audio, no video of the performance.

I’d like to share just one more piece of classical music below that touches my heart and brings me peace and joy. With the news these days, my word, don’t we all want peace?

Claude Debussy wrote “Clair de lune” in 1890.

The pianist in this video, Menahem Pressler, was Jewish, born in Germany in 1923. The Nazis destroyed his parents clothing shop (which was also their home) in 1938. The family fled to Italy, then fled to Palestine. Historic records showed the young man almost died from starvation, as many Jews did back then even without being held in concentration camps. His grandparents, all of his aunts and uncles, all of his cousins, died in Nazi concentration camps. Music seemed to help heal him and he started his career as a pianist. He moved to the USA in 1946. He founded music schools, and organized groups of musicians, the list of his achievements (in addition to his music) that I found online is way too long to list here. He helped so many musicians and supported so much classical music. He died in 2023. I think Claude Debussy would have felt honored to have Menahem Pressler play this piece.

And on THAT note (I think it was an A-flat), on that note, that’s it for today. I hope you enjoy some of these videos, some of this music. Classical music isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. And not all classical music speaks to me either. But I surely do like lots of it. In my next life, I’d like to be a cellist please. Well or maybe a pianist. Oh but I love the bassoon and the bass clarinet. What instrument do you folks reading here play? Or what instrument would you like to play? I’m reminded of the deaf percussionist, Evelyn Glennie, who is one of the most highly acclaimed percussionists world wide, including playing the marimba and such instruments that have notes and melody and harmony to them … and she’s deaf. I wonder how many of our limitations are self-imposed. Hmmmm.