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220090 tn?1379167187

Music is great therapy

I had  a tough time in adolescence.  I sometimes contemplated suicide and often took the drugs of the 60s.  When things got really tough, I  would lie on the floor and play Beethoven's Emperor concerto.  The notes of the slow movement soothed me and somehow gave me the strength to go another day.

Eventually I found a lovely wife and built a career.  Just when life looked great, HCV came along and brought me the gift of interferon.  I took off like a rocket through a time warp and ended up back on the floor depressed and wondering how I would make it through the day without killing someone or myself.

Beethoven once again came to my rescue.  Music is wonderful, it not only brings back great memories, it made me relive the memory as if it were today's experience.  Those soothing notes calmed me down and once again, I made it through with the help of music.
  
As the Doors said with their equally great music, "Break on through to the other side."
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475300 tn?1312423126
Younger days was old rock n rol.....frank zappa black sabath and the like.  middle years was heavy meatle and now it is Country all the way!!!    I* still like all that music.  
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148588 tn?1465778809
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdxkVQy7QLM
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338734 tn?1377160168
Wow! Bohemian Rhapsody always reminded me of the same. But I couldn't really place it until now.

Loved the Liszt

A very different era and style, but Barber's Adagio for Strings is also a stirring piece.

Here's a link to a vocal version of the Adagio.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsyTOW4cYvA
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Avatar universal
I can absolutely see how Tchaikovsky's piece could have inspired "Bohemian Rhapsody."   Related to Freddie Mercury have you seen :  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ0euAtk_q8  I didn't get through this without tears.  As for Fantasia I've never seen it but will look to see if I have a copy of Beethoven's symphony as well as the Chopin references.  I see a new thread developing - music to heal by :0).
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419309 tn?1326503291
If you are a rock n roll fan, here's a piece from Tchaikovsky that I always thought was what gave Freddie Mercury the inspiration for "Bohemian Rhapsody."  To me, the similarities are unmistakable:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWerj8FcprM&feature=related
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419309 tn?1326503291
Speaking of Walt Disney and Beethoven... remember the movie "Fantasia"?
No. 6 Pastoral Part 1 was always one of my favorite pieces...although the entire symphony is a great listen. Disney definitely let us see some of his dreams interpretations of Beethoven...!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKFiR8GvUY4

Andiamo mentioned some Chopin, a couple of my faves by him:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x93pwAvUkAA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoX6ZTUd3Vo&feature=related
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220090 tn?1379167187
Here is a link to a Chopin Nocturne played by the master, Artur Rubinstein.  One of the greatest pianist of all time.
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220090 tn?1379167187
I agree with you.  He must have or he couldn't have written it once he was deaf.

If you want to start with Classical music, I recommend trying Mozart and Beethoven piano concertos or sonatas.  The are among the best and relatively easy to listen to.  If you are not at all familiar with the genre, then you might have to play them a few times before you start to get an understanding of what they are trying to say.

There are also many great Chopin sonatas. The main point is to start with something you can relate to.  I would avoid string quartets until you are more familiar with the genre.  

Just my opinion and taste, so feel free to disagree.

Here is a link to Beethoven's "Moonlight" sonata:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHd8jwXBzXE
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Avatar universal
Wow, beautiful piece of music, thanks for the link.  I've inherited a large collection of classical music.  I really don't know much about any of it.  What's a good place to start for someone who is heavily into the blues, and blues heavy rock?  Okay, sometimes I might put on an Enya CD.  My husband has an incredible stereo system and I've really learned to "hear" over the past number of years.  (I can't stand compressed digital downloads, ouch!)

Andiamo, I once heard something along the lines of this:  someone was remarking how sad it was that Walt Disney never got to see his dream.  The response was - if he hadn't seen it first than none of us would have ever seen it!  I believe that Beethoven heard every note before a single instrument was struck...
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419309 tn?1326503291
Never saw that Bernstein clip, but funny that I almost echoed what he said!
Thanks for the links and smiles...wow, been a while since I've listened to his String Quartets...!
The expanse of his work is breathtaking in its diversity isn't it?  
And indeed, one of the great perks of the computer age is music at your fingertips... no more running around  hunting for that rare album or tape (although sometimes that was half the fun!).

IAmTheWalrus:  
"New World Symphony" is one of classic's masterpieces, agreed.

Susan/Annie:  
Is it your tomorrow yet?!?  Good luck! (See? Doppleganger allowed!)
I'll have to check into "Everything" -- love David Byrne but haven't seen/heard that.

A song to everyone for tonight (used to love to play this when I could play)...
Wishing everyone sweet dreams!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6hdDOFtW64
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220090 tn?1379167187
The story is that he conducted the first performance of the 9th symphony without being able to hear it.  When it was over, he turned around to face the audience and saw them all standing and applauding.  That was when he first realized how much people loved it.
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Avatar universal
Can't you feel the music?  I sure know that I can.  David Byrne' "Everything that happens, happened today concert" resonated through every cell of my being and it was far beyond what entered my ears!

Susan, er Annie ;)
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1420486 tn?1384793153
Did he feel the music?  You guys have peeked my interest. Going to google. Good nite everybody.
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338734 tn?1377160168
I think that the greatest single piece of music ever written is his ninth. It practically brings me to tears every time I hear it. I went to a live performace of it once and it was exhilarating!

Eureka - Ooooh, Dvorak. The "New World Symphony" was the first classical music I ever heard. I remember listening to it on an old LP that was part of a "Classical Music" subscription that my parents had, certainly for the edification of my siblings and me, not that there was any apparent outward influence shown by me during my adolescence, but the love of music has stayed with me always, and I have a deep appreciation of classical music.

"Scheherezade" (Rimsky-Korsakov) was the other in the set that I would listen to for hours. I still love it.
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220090 tn?1379167187
Sorry for all these posts, but I keep finding more music on youtube.

What I find most amazing about Beethoven is that even after completely losing his hearing he maintains his ability to appreciate life and write music that transcends humanity in its joy.  I can't think of anything more difficult to live with than a composer losing his/her hearing.  This would have crippled most humans, but instead of being crippled, he wrote the 9th symphony with its Ode to Joy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZJ1Tgf4JL8
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220090 tn?1379167187
The wonders of computers; here it is!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n68WBx91nQE
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220090 tn?1379167187
My memory is shot, but I still remember how to use Google and wiki:

The following set of string quartets is generally referred to as Beethoven's Late String Quartets, including the Grosse Fuge (which also exists in a piano transcription, opus 134):

        * Opus 127: String Quartet No. 12 in E flat major (1825)
        * Opus 130: String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major (1825)
        * Opus 131: String Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor (1826)
        * Opus 132: String Quartet No. 15 in A minor (1825)
        * Opus 133: Große Fuge in B flat major for string quartet (1826), originally the finale to op. 130
        * Opus 135: String Quartet No. 16 in F major (1826)

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220090 tn?1379167187
Hi Marcia,  good to see you as well.  This mentor program has me interested in HCV once again.  I am glad to see you are interested in music once again!  I'll try you on skype once of these days.

I am really excited: we are going to see Jose Carreno and Julie Kent dance Swan Lake Saturday night!  These are two of the best dancers in the world.  I can't believe they are here in Florida.

eureka -- I like your style!  How about his last quartet.  It sounds like modern jazz!  I forgot the opus number -- no surprise -- I can't remember what movie I saw two days ago - LOL.  Thank you interferon.
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419309 tn?1326503291
I remember that older post (back in my quieter days lol)... I was so jealous you got to see Bo Diddley live lol.

The first five symphonies were always a pleasure and easy to enjoy, but the later ones (and perhaps the greater ones as well) always made me feel so much melancholy at the thought of someone creating such wonderous music and not being able to hear it.  What he must have had within... is beyond imagination.

Music can be admired as an art form, but it's also the universal language.  No matter what our culture, our language, our beliefs, or our politics or religion ;),  music touches a chord within us that encompasses, surpasses, and overcomes mankind's differences.

Mankind
United
Singing
In
Chorus
:D

Susan_1a_CC:  Hey, from now on, you're Annie_1a_CC  lol.

Fretboard:  "I can not say enough about music, ever!"
Ditto that!
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476246 tn?1418870914
Good to see you Eric!

Music truly is something amazing. Different kinds of music accentuate or awaken different moods, feelings and emotions. The influence of music can be quite strong and truly beautiful.

The strange thing is that I could not listen to much music when I was treating. It was annoying and irritating most of the time. Soooo not me.
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220090 tn?1379167187
I posted a similar thread some years ago and got a lot of people thinking about music.  It's one of he most powerful art forms, if not the most powerful.  It doesn't just remind me of something, it brings back the original experience.
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408795 tn?1324935675
Music is one of the best things that I ever learned in my lifetime and is responsible for keeping me out of trouble both as a teen and as an adult.  I can honestly say that it has saved my axx on more than a few occasions when serving time in recovery and elsewhere.  I have found that it can give me energy, relieve stress and make me go through every emotion possible!!  I can not say enough about music, ever!!
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Avatar universal
Maybe not with his ears but surely with his mind and body.
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220090 tn?1379167187
It's hard to imagine someone writing a symphony while completely deaf.  It's so sad to think that  Beethoven never heard half his symphonies and chamber music.  His deafness didn't stop him from writing some of the greatest music in the history of the world!

It's amazing to think the human race can produce someone as wonderful as Beethoven.
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