Music Case

Music

        Music, an intoxicating thing, fills my ears with joy. Some of my favorite childhood memories involve lying on the variegated shag carpet on the floor of my father’s office, listening to polyphonic melodies through a speaker while looking up at the fan swirling up around the ceiling. There I was introduced to and learned the pieces that remain to this day some of my favorites: Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, Debussy’s La mer, and Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 to name a few.

        Classical music, or rather instrumental music, seems to do one thing that other genres do not; it triggers emotional response. With just the arrangement of sounds alone, through form, melody, structure, dynamics- all the mechanisms to produce the sound set aside for the moment, an orchestra can create a web of pure passion and sentiment. To pick one orchestra would be a rigorous task , however, a few of my top choice include the Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and the local Florida Orchestra. To hear magnanimous recordings of these symphonies is one thing, but to actually listen in person, at a hall is overwhelming. In person, the resonance of each instrument rings through the room, filling every last space. One of my earliest memories seeing the Florida Orchestra perform was in elementary school, when my family and I went to see the Stravinsky’s renowned Firebird Suite. The last note in the piece resonates at such a high volume that the hair on one’s arm raises. Compared to a recording, live orchestra music is a far superior experience.

        In the world of music, there are endless melodies and harmonies, making it immensely challenging to narrow down the best pieces. The Rite of Spring is an intense, complex and primal piece of music, and was a hugely controversial piece when it premiered in 1913, causing near riots to break out. Sitting in an auditorium and listening to an orchestra play it life is incredible. The harmonies built throughout are phenomenal, adding much tension and intricacy to the sounds produced. Another amazing piece of work would be La mer. La mer is a masterpiece of subtlety in its rich depiction of the ocean, which combines unusual orchestration with daring impressionistic harmonies. If I had to choose one piece to of superiority, Symphony No. 5  would be the one. This piece is deep,consequential, enthralling music, classical in the integrity of its intention, perfect in form and the mastery of composition. No. 5 is music that’s striking for its novelty and originality, but at the same time somehow hauntingly familiar, so truly and sincerely does it recount human feelings.