Current mood:

curious

Glass-tastic
Almost 5 years to the day that I last saw him in person, yesterday included an adventure to London to hear Philip Glass play Music in 12 Parts.

I've always wondered if I would make it through one of his (or anyone's) longer pieces.  Before yesterday I had never just listened to the music: rather I always read, or walked, or fled a country via boat while the music was going.  I know I have trouble sitting still and even when I do enjoy something, I get bored after not moving.  I don't do well at long conferences or lectures (but I like the movement and participation of a seminar).  How would I deal with Einstein on the Beach or the 4 hours of Music in Twelve Parts?

The answer is "amazingly well."  Yesterday I honestly lost all concept of time.  When each one hour part was over with I felt that I had only been sitting for 10 minutes.  It was like being distracted or even lost.  I liked that.  4 hours was no time at all (or any time really).  It was beautiful. 

I got into a long discussion with Carl about my not liking Classical nor Romantic music.  He expressed shock and horror and did the standard "maybe you just haven't heard..." which I shot down with my years of piano and then years of violin...which I quit because I was always forced to play crap music.  I actually used to think I hated the very sound of the piano only because the only pieces I was given to play or to listen to when I was a wee lass were Classical and Romantic.  I thought the medium was crap not the pieces themselves.  Later, upon discovering much interesting, beautiful, and innovative piano work I realize the music was the problem after all.  Perhaps I would have stayed with musical performance if I could connect to what we were playing in any way.  Frankly there isn't a lot of innovation in orchestras in the deep south.  I had a conductor who thought himself mega ballsy for having us play one Aaron Copeland piece**.

I had such an odd relationship to music when I was young.  I didn't like any of the teenybopper music that my friends listened to...I never owned any New Kids on the Block anything and I never wanted it.  That plus my rocky relationship with the music I was playing.  Sometimes I thought I just did not like music but in reality I was waiting to hear music that I liked.  Do you think our preferences for such things are in us at such an early age even if we have not be exposed to the things in any way?  Do you think we are predisposed to certain musical/artistic things and not others?  Is it possible that without any outside influence I just like the things that I like?

**I didn't think him ballsy but it was the first time I think I sincerely loved something we were playing: Rodeo is exciting and wonderfully American.  I connected fully to it.  I always wanted more of that, whatever that was.