The Months Ahead

I hope you have been enjoying Classical Music Breakfast. As for me, I enjoy sharing with others the significance of classical music in our lives. Over the next three months, however, I will be embarking on a new, more ambitious project that will require some of the time I previously spent here. Therefore, from now until the end of June, I plan to post occasionally, but certainly not every day. Take care, and merry listening!

The Purpose

Whether I'm driving home after a long day at work, feeling depressed over life's seemingly dwindling possibilities, or witnessing something ugly in the world, I'm always grateful that there is music. It is the most reliable and efficient means of lifting myself up after feeling down. Classical music, in particular, tends to inspire me more than any other kind. It reminds me of the very best moments I've ever experienced. It reminds me of what is possible and why I should keep trying.

Recently, I was posed the question: What is the purpose of listening to classical music? My answer: I listen to classical music as a way of asking my soul to be mindful of the best in existence and to guide me accordingly.

Television

Maryland Public Television (MPT) aired an all-Gershwin concert tonight. An American in Paris, the Cuban Overture, and Rhapsody in Blue were all performed by the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, under the conducting of Giancarlo Guerrero. The performances, in my opinion, were average, but, still, it was nice to see a classical music performance on cable TV.

It is unfortunate that there are so few cable television stations dedicated to the fine arts. I have noticed that public networks, particularly not-for-profit ones such as MPT, are more likely than others to air fine arts programs, evidently because such broadcasting is not very profitable.

Hopefully, the Internet will not end up like cable television. There are already a good number of classical music radio stations available on the Internet, and I have high hopes for Internet television.

Modern Culture

On this same day in 1721, some two hundred and eighty-eight years ago, Johann Sebastian Bach dedicated his completed Brandenburg Concertos to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt. The dedication (which Bach wrote in French) is not so much a reflection of Bach's character as it is a reflection of the time period, when such dedications were the norm . In the first sentence alone, Bach manages to squeeze in no fewer than nine "Your Highnesses." It began thus:

"As I had, a couple of years ago, the happiness of appearing before Your Royal Highness, on your orders, and that I noticed then that Your Highness took some pleasure in the little talents that Heaven has given me for Music, and that in taking leave of Your Royal Highness you were willing to do me the honor of commanding me to send you some pieces of my Composition: I have therefore according to your gracious orders, taken the liberty of offering my very humble duties to Your Royal Highness, with the present Concertos, which I have adapted for several instruments [...]"

The margrave did not have the proper ensemble for performing the concertos, and so they were hardly performed for decades, if at all. It is not until 1835, a full century after their composition, when there is finally a record of a public performance of a Brandenburg Concerto.

In contrast, the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra performed Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 last Sunday in Berkeley, California. This coming Sunday, the Academy of Ancient Music will perform all six concertos in Morrow, Georgia.

Communication

"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." --Aldous Huxley