Thursday, October 2, 2008

Music

This place has been rather neglected lately. I apologize and blame my lack of writing time on the abundance of reading time, so shamefully dominating my schedule. Time to take up the lost thread of narrative and move on. For today, I decided to be moving on the tones of music.

But before that, quite a few things have happened since my last post. One would say that even more than quite a few. Being unable to decided which I want to share with you – a lecture by Michael Moore, another by prof. Carby, or yet another by an incredibly beautiful human being, Eddie Daniels, or the fact that the weather was unspeakably lovely and not it’s beep beep beep cold – I am settling on music, on its charm and universality of its language.

Those who know me also know how fond I am of symphonic and chamber music. They also know that one of my biggest worries about the year-long US-stay was that I would miss the whole season of Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra. I know, silly silly me. As if they didn’t have orchestras here, right?

To make a long story short, I’m exposed to so much music as never before in my life. I’m not particularly sure if it is even healthy to attend a symphony orchestra concert and a chamber/solo instrument recital each single week, and to intersperse the time in between by listening to the same music on the ipod (or as one of my friends said: “Yes, you did a very American thing, buying an ipod, but you have European music on it, anyway, don’t you? Oh, by the way, could you recommend me some?” I was more than happy to point his attention to Dvorak’s and Elgar’s cello concertos). Well, I am yet to see the consequences of such an indulgence. The worst thing that can happen is a withdrawal symptom when there’s all of a sudden less music in my life, that it when the battery goes flat.

The most beautiful aspect about this music is that it speaks in a language which is truly universal. One can be illiterate, but once the orchestra starts playing Dvorak’s Eighth Symphony, words are no longer needed; everybody understands. And that’s exactly what the orchestra did start to play. I have never heard this piece live so I was rather curious and full of expectations. After all, it was Dvorak, a Czech composer with so many ties to America. A Czech composer being performed on a stage in the country whose Muses inspired him to write the most beautiful pieces of his repertoire. Enjoying this particular Symphony was definitely a more complex experience than mere listening to the subtle tones of the Third Movement or the jubilant mood of the Fourth one. Speaking of the Third Movement, let me quote a program:

“For beguiling beauty and haunting enigma, nowhere in music is there a moment more captivating than the exquisite waltz in G minor which soars from the violins at the beginning of the third movement. It is as if the dance in triple time has just returned from heartache – barely but bravely – but with faith intact to whirl:

Thou, Ambrosial Waltz, when first the moon
Beheld thee twirling, to thy melting tune
Endearing, delightful Waltz – Muse of motion!”

(Lord Gordon Byron)

It was incredibly heartwarming to listen to this particular piece of music (who cares that the acustics in Michigan Theatre is only a far cry from the acustics in Hill Auditorium). But even more heartwarming was meeting a very nice lady, sitting next to me (with both our husbands out of town, as we put it), with whom I was for a coffee today and who I’m looking forward to meeting again soon. Which leads me back to what I’m saying in some of my previous posts. People are really nice over here. And when I say over here, I mean in Ann Arbor, in this liberal-minded sanctuary engulfed by the sea of conservatism of the rest of the state of Michigan.

There have been other concerts and recitals. Be that Beethoven’s Seventh performed by University Symphony Orchestra or Tchaikovsky’s Second Symphony by University Philharmonia Orchestra, or oh-so-beautiful interpretation of Beethoven’s Sonata for Piano and Cello in C Major.

The only thing that struck me, and that falls into the category of differences from the title of the blog, is the anthem. One may ask, an anthem? And my answer would be, yes, my dear, an anthem. It happened so quickly that I really didn’t know what had hit me. At one moment the conductor was welcoming the audience, at another his baton was high in the air, the whole audience standing, the whole orchestra (yes orchestra, except for the cellos that is, as this would be close to impossible) was standing, and The Star-Spangled Banner was being sung all over the place. Now, that was a novelty to me. However, I have to admit, some people around me had really very nice singing voices. Afterwards I was told that this was a norm. With the high rate of my concert-attendance, I might as well learn the words from mere listening to them before my sojourn is out.

Oh, and have I mentioned that nearly all the University-based performances are free of charge? Not yet? Well yes, they are. No wonder that when my beloved ones ask me how I am over here, I have to answer them time and time again, I’m really good, thank you for asking.

And off to the VP debate I switch. Sarah Palin has just said that other countries in the world don’t care about global warming as much as The United States do. Ehm, I mean, excuse me? Someone should maybe explain to her that the word “much” is not quite a synonym of the word “little”. But this is getting me just too far from music. I promise to devote some of my next posts, apart from requested recycling policy, also to the election-craze. One almost wishes to be a sociology not a literature person now.

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