Musical taste

The three Bs (Johan Sebastian, Johannes, and Ludwig) are my staple diet!

Add to that; Schubert, Debussy, Rachmaninov ....

Chopin, however, is my favourite.

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It seems I have no control in this. One thing simply leads to another.

I am hoping that in the end, everything worthwhile will be touched upon at least once.

It is a lifelong journey and for most, a fruitful harvest rarely occurs unless you put the effort in and relentlessly pursue this passion to a higher order (as with anything in else in life too). As much as I can help it I do not want to hear anything worthwhile only once in my life. On the contrary, I want to spend as much of my life as I can growing with the music that means something to me. So when I latch onto something that is worthwhile it goes to the grave with me.

For me, the core music I listen to today was set early in my life. Maybe 90% of my listening still centers around this group but I actively spend 10% of my time to always expose myself to something new. My core group expands when I find something worth adding and spending more time with. Everything else gets left behind. Something is of interest to me when it strikes a deep chord within me at some level. This means that any music that covers the full range of human emotions.

Interestingly, I doubt that I would have been interested in and listening to pre-20th century music at all had I not been exposed to it through piano lessons since age three. One fueled the other and it has become one of my life's greatest passions but the key is that I found my musical taste all on my own (not by following someone else's passion). My sister had the same piano lessons that I did yet I am the only one in my family to go in this direction. No one in my family or any of my childhood friends listen to classical music to any extent. Logically, it follows that I also have the musical tastes I do because I mostly resisted the "going along with the crowd" mentality, even as a teenager. I didn't mind the stuff I listened to as a youth but I only now give time to a handful of groups or performers that were doing something interesting. That said, I guess my philosophy is that I tend to like only the very best of any genre.

In a broad sense (compared to most people) I guess one could say that I have a very exclusive, narrow listening tastes but within this and for me personally, I have enough music to love and live with that I'll never get through it all properly in my lifetime as it is. And after more than 40 years of listening and playing the music has never stopped giving back to me either. Throughout the year, if I've become exhausted with a certain composer I give them a rest but always come back months later with a renewed passion. This is a habit that coincides with my physical practice of music. Any music that doesn't have this ability is not part of my core group.

Best Regards,
Doug

It's the wonder of the journey, not only finding stuff you love, but working out what you don't and why you don't.

I guess I post about topics like this because I always hope someone will say "WAIT! You should give that one another try." and then go on to explain themselves.

When that happens, I always go back for another look.

It's one of the benefits in posting to a music forum :-)

I see...

Wait Mike, go back and listen to Spiritual Unity again, the emotional turmoil which ensues leads you to the pub and fine evening of excess and bonding with your future son in law. What's not to like? ...you'll not get that with Bartok

Hey Mat, Spiritual Unity was the other look, but as you point out, it did come out all right in the end :-)

Wouldn't Bartok drive the "average" person mad and to the bar. Beyond that....

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It is a lifelong journey

Amen to that!

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In 1980 my list of most favored composers would include Shostakovitch, Mahler, Bartok, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Richard Strauss, Holst and Beethoven.

In 1980, I would probably have said Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson and David Byrne....

Nigel