PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
This past week feels like a week that deserves mass grieving.
Of course, there was the life-changing, historic landmark of surpassing, in only a few months, more than 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 during the coronavirus pandemic in the United States.
There were the spikes in new COVID-19 cases and deaths following the opening up from lockdowns and the mass gatherings over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, such as the party at the Lake of the Ozarks (below) in Missouri.
Then there was the tragic, racist death — an alleged murder — of George Floyd by the police and the ensuing rioting, violence and additional death in Minneapolis as well as the seven shootings among protesters in Louisville.
And depending of your political point of view, there were the incidents of White House threats against social media, especially Twitter, for simply telling the truth or at least directing viewers to it.
So what can one say about these sad events and sad times with music?
Well, not too long ago Alex Ross (below), the prize-winning and internationally respected music critic for The New Yorker magazine, wrote an engaging and moving essay about why he finds Brahms to be the perfect composer for grieving and mourning.
He mentions other composers as possibilities, including Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert.
But Ross still finds Brahms more suited for several reasons. He even cites a favorite performance of a Brahms short, late Intermezzo by the Romanian pianist Radu Lupu. (You can hear that performance in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Here is a link: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/grieving-with-brahms
What composers – and what pieces or performances – do you find best for grieving? For marking loss?
Read the essay, listen to the music.
Then let us know in the comment section what music – perhaps Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings? – that you would want to listen to during sad occasions.
The Ear wants to hear.
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Archives
Blog Stats
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
Mary Friedel-Hunt on What do you think of the… | |
music88 on Yunchan Lim’s Chopin etudes ar… | |
diacon2 on Who was the better pianist? Ma… | |
welltemperedear on Classical music: Madison Opera… | |
welltemperedear on Classical music: Was Bernard H… |
Tags
#BlogPost #BlogPosting #ChamberMusic #FacebookPost #FacebookPosting #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic #TheEar #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison #YouTubevideo Arts audience Bach Baroque Beethoven blog Cello Chamber music choral music Classical music Compact Disc composer Concert concerto conductor Early music Facebook forward Franz Schubert George Frideric Handel Jacob Stockinger Johannes Brahms Johann Sebastian Bach John DeMain like link Ludwig van Beethoven Madison Madison Opera Madison Symphony Orchestra Mead Witter School of Music Mozart Music New Music New York City NPR opera Orchestra Overture Center performer Pianist Piano post posting program share singer Sonata song soprano String quartet Student symphony tag The Ear United States University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music University of Wisconsin–Madison Viola Violin vocal music Wisconsin Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra wisconsin public radio Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart YouTube
The very first section of the Brahms Requiem, “Blessed are they” in translation) is exquisitely beautiful
and comforting to me..
LikeLike
Comment by Ann Boyer — May 30, 2020 @ 4:59 pm
Your comments and the beautiful column by Ross sent me back to Brahms last night. A most rewarding listen. And I agree about Lupu’s version, it makes you weep.
LikeLike
Comment by Linda Clauder — May 30, 2020 @ 10:36 am
I am drawn to Shostakovich. His two violin concertos. I find those works oddly suitable for these times.
LikeLike
Comment by Augustine — May 30, 2020 @ 10:32 am
It was Brahms my parents played in the days after JFK was shot. Only other person I can think of might be Elgar.
LikeLike
Comment by Ronnie — May 30, 2020 @ 10:20 am
The Requiem of Maurice Durufle and the War Requiem of Benjamin Britten are two others I would nominate.
LikeLike
Comment by Tim Adrianson — May 30, 2020 @ 7:42 am
I find Henryk Gorecki’s Symphony No. 3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs) opens the floodgates very well.
LikeLike
Comment by dmckee41051 — May 30, 2020 @ 7:32 am