First Steps in Classical Music

I had planned to conclude the series I had been offering to demonstrate the concept that we hear (and often recognize) classical music from various sources around us - even though we may not know the actual name. I haven't been able to complete that thought today, so am taking a brief break. In the meantime, I'd like to continue with some listening suggestions.

Visitor to New Yorker: Pardon me, can you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?
New Yorker: Practice, practice, practice.

How can someone get to know, like and even recognize classical music composers and even individual pieces? Listen, listen, listen.

Do you recall this scene from Mr. Holland’s Opus? Mr. Holland is an aspiring composer who must struggle as a music appreciation/band leader/driver training teacher just to make ends meet. His career as a composer is always on the back burner it seems. Then his wife tells him she’s pregnant. Mr. Holland is stunned; how will this affect his love of music composition? He can’t find words to say anything, leaving his wife in tears because he isn’t overjoyed to hear this news. He tells her a story about how he came to love the music of John Coltrane. A friend in the record shop introduced him to John Coltrane one day, and young Mr. Holland listened to it. He didn’t like what he heard. But he listened to it again, then again, then again and again and again. The result? He came to love John Coltrane’s music. His wife, wiping tears from her eyes, said “If that’s a lie, it’s the most beautiful lie I’ve ever heard.” Similarly,  Glen Holland’s excitement grew as he contemplated the coming of their child.

Where do you start on this musical trek? I’d suggest beginning with the familiar, even though it might not be familiar by composer or name.  Here are some suggestions, perhaps with some personal reflections.

Haydn’s Surprise Symphony (# 94): The opening theme of the second movement is an old folk song “Ah, vous dirai je maman,” better known to us as “Twinkle, twinkle little star.” Listen to the surprise. There have been a number of guesses about the surprise. Why do you think Haydn put it there? (Mozart also wrote a set of piano variations on the same theme.)

Haydn is often called the father of the symphony. He developed the form, then wrote 104 or so symphonies himself. He is similarly the popularizer of the modern string quartet, having written around 68 string quartets. His string quartet # 62 (opus 76 # 3) includes a set of variations on the Austrian National Anthem. (If you attend church you may know the melody as “Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken.")

Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in  D minor, BWV 565. Listen to the opening Toccata. It’s the theme that is traditionally and classically played for a spooky sound effect. Traditional Phantoms of the Opera played it, and, so did Captain Nemo in the music chamber aboard the Nautilus. The Toccata is fairly short, the Fugue is considerable longer. A fugue is a more developed form of a round. Do you remember singing Row, row, row your boat Gently down the stream, at which point another group began singing these words as you continued with Merrily, merrily, happily merrily Life is but a dream. This is called a round. A  fugue is like a round. If you listen to the Fugue, listen to the theme as it makes its entry with another grouping of instrumental sounds, and try to note how it all ends.

I’ve mentioned repeatedly The William Tell Overture by Gioacchino Rossini. Listen to it. You may not recognize the opening part, but when this overture moves into the second part, you’ll hear a theme that was often played in cartoons. Finally, the third section includes the big fanfare that has long been associated with The Lone Ranger. (Hi-yo Sil-ver away!)

Beethoven as a major composer has written pretty complex music, but also some beguilingly simple tunes, too. What beginning pianist has not played “Fur Elise?” Or who hasn’t heard at least the opening of Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata? Of course, there is the grand opening of the 5th symphony, often called “fate knocking at the door.” During World War 2, Churchill popularized the music by adopting its opening notes - da, da, da, dummm - as  the musical equivalent of the Morse code letter V, for victory.

To get acquainted with the instruments of the orchestra turn to Britten’s Variations on a Theme of Purcell. The narrated version is called A Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, with introduction of the music, then introduction of the various instrumental sections of the orchestra and each of their members as they perform variations on the original theme.

Of course, not all classical music is slow and heavy. Some of the works listed above are lighter. But for classical music “lite” listen to music of Jacques Offenbach, either his Overture to Orpheus in the Underworld, or as music from a ballet put together from Offenbach’s works called Gaite Parisienne. You may even feel like dancing the Can-Can from either of these music selections.

Well, there are some starting points that are easy on the ears. You don’t have to rush out and buy CDs of this music. Some of it you may find it on YouTube. Try a resource called Instant Encore; some of these may be there. There is a delightful children’s program called Classics for Kids, although its goal is to inform and introduce children of all ages to composers and some of their music. You can Google Classics for Kids, or search for it at www.prx.org. Although there are a number of P2P apps out there, I don’t want to push any of them because of possible copyright violations. You might also try Googling the term “free classical music resources” to see what pops up, although they are seldom “free.”

So get out there and listen, listen, listen. I’m sure you’ll find something even on this short list that you’ll enjoy and want to hear again and again.