What was your "mindblowing" instrumental music experience?
I thought of these 2 songs because of some show on CBC radio this morning. The host said something about Mondays being dedicated to listeners' mindblowing classical music experiences, and she asked "kids" 18 and under to call in and share theirs. Well I'm not a "kid" anymore, but I'll share two of my experiences here. They're not necessarily mindblowing, but notable nonetheless.
Number one: Brahms' Hungarian Dance.
Number dos: Strauss' Pizzicato Polka.
Anyone who ever played in a youth orchestra or symphony may be able to relate to these two pieces.
Both were pieces that we had to play/rehearse/perform REPETITIVELY as young orchestra and symphony musicians between age 10-17. Both bring me back to my angsty hormonal youth and all the fun memories of "band camp" and other so-called retreats. The Hungarian dance is AWESOME because it's fast moving, playful and when you play it, you can just rip'er UP! I'm talkin'like heavy pressure on the bow, hairs flying, body swaying, rip it up! Plus our friend Chris used to do a vocal rendition of it with high pitched squeals that make me laugh now thinkin about it.
That was an experience.
Then the other news.. Pizz. Polka, well, you can hear it for yourself. It was quite limiting in terms of expression, because with pizzicato (plucking the string) the string can only resonate as much as the string wants to on its own. Not only that, but the whole piece keeps you on your toes, note to note. I'm getting anxiety all over again...!! Pre-teen hormones cause excessive thinking and feeling, wondering and wishing...so there was very little time for polka-ing. Let's DANCE! Brahms, rip it UP!
the good news
the bad? news
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