30 Days of Gratitude: Classical Music
My first memory of classical music is one of me in tears. My mother came to me and asked what was wrong. I replied, “it’s so beautiful.”
I was six years old.
Playing on our record player at that time was “Sheep May Safely Graze,” composed by J.S.Bach, arranged and performed by E.Power Biggs. My brother and I called it the "spaghettiOs" record:
Throughout my childhood, I remember becoming familiar with numerous classical works. My brother and I would make up words to the German Bach Cantatas. We danced to Handel’s Water Music. Because my mother preferred the Baroque and earlier classics, we grew up with Vivaldi, Corelli, Mozart and Hayden, in addition to Bach and Handel. I can hear several of Brahms’ Intermezzi and immediately be transported back to my mom playing them on the piano. I can also hear Debussy’s Clair de Lune and see my dad “climpering” (his word) on that same piano. I hear Bach's Italian Concerto and recall my brilliant cousin playing it for us when we were all teenagers.
When I went away to college, my taste in classical music expanded. I can hear various pieces and easily associate them with specific periods of my life. For example, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade and Orff’s Carmina Burana were two works I grew to love when I was in college. While attending law school, a good friend got me into Gershwin.
In my 30s, I expanded to Mahler, Sibelius and Grieg and other, more contemplative/impressionist composers. I discovered that in a life that was filled with increasing responsibilities, I had an outlet for rejuvenation.
To this day, classical music invigorates me as much as it soothes and comforts me. It responds to whatever mood I happen to be in at the time. And it will always keep me connected to all the chapters of my life.