A Post for A Challenging Moment

You do not need me to tell you that we’ve entered a moment unlike any most of us have ever encountered in our lives.  Like many of you, I stand today suspended in a solution of apprehension. 

But I am here to tell you that listening to classical music, a staple of my daily diet of spiritual food under normal conditions, is now more important than ever.  Composers like Beethoven, despite their own challenging life circumstances, were able to express invisible yet clearly audible expressions of hope, joy and strength! These are exactly the people we need in our lives right now, and the only way to access their spirits is to listen… to give our undivided attention to their amazing musical creations.

While, as you know, I have spent most of my career as a professional musician standing on my soapbox preaching the value of listening to classical music, I now implore you to do so.  If we are to be restricted in our daily mobility for an unknown period of time, we must remember that our individual media collections of classical music contain a vast resource of life affirming emotions.  To name just two… how about the final movements of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 and the Brahms Symphony No. 1! If you don’t have your own collection of classical recordings…  go to YouTube!  It’s all there.

And I would be totally remiss, if I failed to mention the incredibly generous gift the Berlin Philharmonic has just offered the entire world… free access to their library of on-line concerts.  Watching and listening to one of these is virtually a religious experience for me.  Their playing is in every respect so artistically phenomenal, the interpretations so moving that you can hardly believe it’s happening before your eyes and ears on your computer or television screen.  The videography and audio engineering are also outstanding.

Here is the link for the Berlin Philharmonic’s library of free on-line concerts.

We frankly don’t know when we will again be able to listen to a live symphonic concert. If you find yourself at home for more hours of the day than you might wish, give yourself the gift of one of these concerts… daily.  I implore you!  It will do wonders for your spirits.