Today I went to a classical music concert.
I’m not what you would call a ‘music lover’. I do like my music, and am musical (at one stage in my life I would even venture to say I was musically talented), but I don’t think I could classify myself as a music lover. I do listen to a lot of different genres of music; I’m influenced by my overall emotional mood and I tend to go through phases.
This morning, I was listening to a genre of music called hardstyle – if you don’t know it, urban dictionary it – and this evening, I listened to Chopin. Quite different stuff, one might say. Out of all the great classical pianists, Chopin is by far my favourite. There’s something about his style – it’s like you know his piano was weird (in an awesome sense) even back in Chopin’s time.
Even though I haven’t gone to many concerts, I felt that the pianist tonight – Chris Cartner – played Chopin with emotion and grace. He also explained major points in Chopin’s life – which I was quite grateful for. Knowing the context behind the compositions gives a whole new dimension on the pieces, and keeps things interesting.
I’m not talented or experienced enough to pick up on any mistakes, but nevertheless, when I closed my eyes, all my mind could focus on was the music.
And that’s what made it a good concert (even though he didn’t play Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 …total sadface right there).
My rating (percentage of mind focussed-ness): 80%
Rating explanation: Because I haven’t been to all the concerts in the world and over all time periods, I feel that this rating system is much more accurate (at least for me) than your normal concert rating. It measures how focused I was during the concert (I’m easily distracted, but when something gets my attention, I’m super focused).
