Am wrapping up listening to Brahm's Symphony Number 3 right now.  I must be in a better mood, because I really enjoyed this a lot.  To be fair, it strikes me as a lot more understated than the second symphony.  I particularly enjoyed the 2nd and 3rd movements.  The fourth seemed to return to the melodramatic qualities of the 2nd symphony somewhat. 

The third movement in particular was pensive and thought provoking.  Very understated and gentle, but with real moments of power.  The fourth movement started out with a bang, too much like the 2nd Symphony for my liking, but then settled down and finished quite gently. 

Understand, it is not that I mind loud music.  Love AC/DC and Zeppelin, you know.  But that Second Symphony and the first part of the 4th movement of the 3rd Symphony seemed too boisterous and somewhat inappropriate, for my tastes anyway. 

I will be moving on to something else next week, perhaps some Schubert?  We will see what I can turn up. 

I had a difficult day yesterday.  I had a two hour drive to a meeting, which was interrupted by a flat tire, and then ultimately ended in disappointment as the person I was meeting with forgot and was not there.  Then a two hour drive back home on a spare tire.  Lovely.


Anyway, all that driving time did allow me to review Brahms Symphony 2 and 3.  I will review the second symphony today and come back with my thoughts on the 3rd tomorrow.

The music is beautiful, very moving.  Yet, this was not my favorite.  I have to confess that I found it to be perhaps a bit melodramatic?  Is that a word we can apply to music?  If so, then I think that shoe fits particularly well.  I found the four movements a little overdone and showy.  Again, performed very nicely and pleasant to listen to, but just not my favorite. 

Perhaps my bad day played in?  I went back and re-listened to the second this morning in my office, and my feelings remain the same.  Not that I would not recommend this, just not as highly as the Beethoven I so much enjoyed.

In my mind, I would compare Brahms Symphony 2 to a Michael Bay movie.  Full of special effects and explosions and terrific if you want to turn your brain off for a while and just sort of... be.  But it did not make me pause and stop to carefully consider the music, or try to anticipate what was coming next.

Tomorrow I will re-examine the 3rd Symphony and post thoughts on it then.  We will see if my mood improves...

Beethoven's Symphony #9 in D Minor

Might as well start with a biggie, huh? 

Even I know this one is major.  You know how I know?  Cause I go to church.  And from time to time we sing Ode to Joy.  My dad always complained growing up that he hated that particular hymn because the words ruin the music, and make the joyous symphony worse. 

I always thought he was a little weird, but after listening to this for the past two days, I think I get it.  It is remarkable.

Here is the pertinent info:

I'm not sure I can put into words how beautiful this entire symphony is.  I had it cranked up in my car yesterday afternoon driving home from Norfolk, and had tears in my eyes for half the ride.  What an amazing work. 

My favorite part happens to be in the middle of it, when the choir begins to sing.  The first time I heard it, I actually giggled a little to myself because I had an image of a large, mustached German man singing to me whilst drinking heavily. 

(what, too much transparency too soon?)

But the more I listen to it, the more it moves me.  And when the other voices join in?  Nothing short of amazing.  This recording I have happens to be by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and they do a fabulous job.  Ode to Joy is apt, as I can not listen to this without a smile on my face.  It is moving, powerful and beautiful. 

In fact, my four year old loved it.  She was sick today, and I went out to grab some medicine for her, and took this CD with me.  We listened to this track in advance of me writing this piece, and I heard her singing along in the back seat with the vocalists.  And no, she does not speak German, she was singing her own little made up words.  The epitome of cuteness, really.

So, I started with an easy one.  I loved it.  Tricky, huh?  I will find something not so well known and post on that soon. 

Those who have heard it, thoughts?

Background - Why am I doing this?

I love Rock and Roll.  Put another dime in the jukebox, ba...

Ahem. 

Where was I?  Oh yes, an explanation.  I grew up in the 80's listening to and loving Huey Lewis, the Bangles, B-52s, Michael Jackson, etc.  Still have a ton of that on my iPod.  In fact, I remember the first song that turned me on to Rock and Roll: Make me Lose Control by Eric Carmen.  What a great song. 

OK, perhaps an exaggeration.  A very good song, nonetheless. 

I also remember transitioning to Pearl Jam the first time I heard "Jeremy", and being more reticent, but eventually falling in love with Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden in the 90's.  

But as you can probably tell, this is a blog about Classical Music. 

Why am I doing this?  I am learning to love classical music.  Slowly.  But surely.  I watched the movie Shine with Geoffrey Rush a couple of months ago and was incredibly moved by the music.  It was breathtaking.  I was truly taken aback. 

My father played trombone in high school and has always enjoyed classical music.  After I watched the movie, I called and ask for a Christmas/birthday present: a Classical Music CD collection.  I knew he would have fun putting it together, doing the research to find the best recordings and such.  He enjoys little else more than listening to his record player with headphones on to Beethoven, Mozart, etc.  I figured this could be a nice bonding experience for us both, and broaden my horizons. 

I was right.  It took me half a day to digitize everything to my laptop and move it to my iPad and iPod, but it was well worth it.  I can now sprinkle in some incredible music while at work and doing other things throughout the day. 

So that tells you why I am beginning to listen to more Classical Music.  Why this blog? 

Lotsa different reasons.  But in conversations with some people, I heard over and over, "Oh, I wish I knew more about Classical Music, which composers are best, what to listen to, etc".  A cursory google search reveals there are MANY sites devoted to aficionados, but maybe not as many to us noobs.  So why not enjoy the journey with me as I listen to, appreciate, and digest over 25 Classical Music CDs? 

As we go on, I have a feeling I will be purchasing better stereo equipment and headphones to truly appreciate this.  I also welcome suggestions and recommendations from anyone who happens upon this blog.  If you have something you think I should listen to, by all means, recommend away!

Those of you like me who are not well versed in this kind of music, maybe this will encourage you to branch out.  And those of you who are CMS (Classical Music Snobs), well, I'd love to hear from you too, just try not to laugh at me too much.  I really don't know what I'm talking about, this will be about what I enjoy and why. 

So there.

My goal is to post 3-4 times a week, sometimes reviewing an entire CD, other times just one symphony or movement.  I will try to link to amazon.com as a reference so you can get a better idea of what I am listening to. 

Enjoy!