[Finny]

I will admit that as I've gotten older, I've found Mozart a little more to my liking. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I disliked his music. But in symphony orchestras (just youth symphonies, nothing serious) and on keyboard (again, just simple stuff, not the hairy stuff that you as a much more accomplished player know), the emotional egagement of Mozart was ho-hum, frivolous, and shallow -- I remember so well during rehearsals and concerts thinking this when our program included Mozart. Beethoven, on the other hand, was engaging, it moved all of us in the orchestra and bound us together as players -- a journey. It's entirely possible that Mozart's more sophisticated works were beyond our capabilities and so we didn't play them, though even what I've listened to over the years in the ways of Mozart, has rarely thrilled me, with a few exceptions (sorry, can't recall the titles).

Bach remains my favorite. Our elementary and high school orchestra (same teacher & players throughout) was small but intense, most us beginning at tender years with the Suzuki method and growing up together. Thus our teacher had us playing mostly Baroque music, lots of Bach, Telleman, Vivaldi, etc. We were pretty accomplished in this regard, and toured the state a few times.

As for keyboard, this may not sound like much to you, as it's probably child's play (it was in Bach's time!), but I learned six of the 15 two-part inventions, and someday hope to learn all of them. Bach does something to me, always has. The music is so perfectly mathematical yet so extraordinarily spiritual, indicating to me a connection between math and God.

[Pyro7480]

The music is so perfectly mathematical yet so extraordinarily spiritual, indicating to me a connection between math and God.

Mathematical Signatures in Nature: A Sign of Design?
Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Section

[sitetest]

Dear Finny,

"As for keyboard, this may not sound like much to you, as it's probably child's play (it was in Bach's time!), but I learned six of the 15 two-part inventions,..."

I always thought that, too, but my sons' piano teacher informs me that several of them are actually pretty tough, especially No. 8 in F Major (I used to play it, myself).

Bach does something for me, as well. My younger son really loves JS, too (although for him, he likes pretty much everything written from 1750 or before - I guess I do, too.).


sitetest

[Borges]

Telemann is deathly boring! But Bach and Mozart combine science and art like no other composers.