Quote:
Originally Posted by PSmith08 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
That's well and good, but - let's be fair - phrases like "Mozart was a court monkey" are pretty extreme. In fact, in my experience, such a phrase seems calculated entirely to garner a response, and one that probably won't be positive.
Defend your opinion all you want. However, I'm not sure that phrases like the one I quoted above are the best way to defend your position. In fact, such a comment - which, with a little rephrasing, could be the start of a productive discussion - seems more likely to shut down discussion, thereby rendering your defense a moot point.
If you've got it, flaunt it. I don't see any reason why life experience should be kept out of the electronic ether. If you know something the rest of us don't, go for it. I, for one, always like learning new things.
BTW, to keep the thread (at least partially) on-topic: try Franz Schmidt's Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln. It has moments with a lot of power, and moments with a soothing peacefulness. Fauré's Requiem is pretty good along these lines, too. Richard Wagner's Parsifal, which might be a pretty challenging work, will pay off in the long run if you're looking for flat out gorgeous music.
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What I meant by Mozart was a "court monkey" was meant in the same sense that John Williams is a "film monkey." His expression will always be somewhat limited by others "approval."
Of course I was exaggerating, but that is just reflex from my former debate days.
I only meant it in relation to Beethoven, not as a fact. I was comparing the two, saying that Beethoven composed just for the hell of it, however his brilliance lies within his mastery of simplicity.
Comparing Dali to Picasso is futile, since both were masters at the message they were attempting to translate, however, I can relate more to Dali the person, therefore he will always have the "iconic" advantage just as Scriabin and Chopin have in my book.
As for me, the reason why I have such opinion, is because I cannot distinguish between life and art. I have severe synesthesia for both music and some color, music being more severe, something for ever frequency. I cannot hear any frequency without experiencing a flood of indescribable shapes and colors. The worst part is, I have to call them colors, because they elicit the same feeling I get when seeing colors with my eyes, but they are not like "red's and blues" but more like... tastes, or... steel feelings or soft, darker feels. On top of all this, I cannot think in any way other than pictures and shapes, and I was stunned when I was told that people don't all think this way. I started playing piano when I was 3, and can still remember every note I played on my first lesson. I can learn 20 page etudes in a day, because I remember what I "see" very easily.
I have thought and thought scientifically about why I can do this, as it only helped to separate me from my musical peers, and I guess the best way I have come to understand it is... because I can "see" it, I understand space extremely effectively. I understand how music is simply a momentary stop in time upon an infinite scale, and when certain combinations of these momentary stops apply, they elicit a specific (yet recognizable and categorical) reaction within me. I in turn, do not think in terms of "notes" anymore, but direct transmission of feeling, in which I can understand/recreate it instantaneously.
This in turn has led me to realize how limited language is for the pure transmission of thought... and how no one will ever truly "understand" until I play for them. That is why I love music, because I can talk about it all I want, but no amount of words will express what I truly mean as well as playing even three notes... the exact amount I want to/am trying to convey.
I first found out I experienced music differently than others in AP Music Theory in High School. We were listening to Schoenberg, and I immediately started having slight convulsions and physical reactions to the music in which they almost had to call the paramedics. My senses were going crazy... subconsciously trying to find some kind of tonic ground but slipping all over mathematics? I don't know. But that is how I have come to terms with it.
Imagine trying to communicate what you are experiencing as a child to others, only to have them shoot you down because THEY didn't grow up under the same conditions. It was very confusing for me as a child. I hate "teachers" because they are people with opinions... opinions they attempt to force upon you, not always in your best interest, but because that is "how it is done."
I have realized that "how it is done" simply means "allowing for the most efficient means of translation" and that I can figure out by myself in relatively short time.
This is why I am an audiophile, not because I like a "clean picture", but because of what a "cleaner" picture can express to me. It brings across this underlying message in music that "dirty" music can't express fully.
You may say, "Well why aren't you at Juilliard or Berklee or European schools?" Because the only thing they can help me improve upon is technique and present me with bragging rights, something I am not fond of. On top of that... it is only more of me having to explain to others what is going on in my head, even though it already has begun to make perfect sense to me. If you can "see" what is going on in music... if you can get that 2 + 2 = 4 for a piece, how can someone help you understand that 2 + 2 = 4... better?
This is why I judge them as "men." Not because of hours and hours of studying and studying, but because I can peek behind the curtain that studying helps open. I can see/feel what they were attempting to express, and that is why I love some of Mozart's jazz genius where he does stuff almost "just for the hell of it".
I just hate having to explain all that again... because it sounds extremely unbelievable, and as you read, there is no doubt in my mind that you doubt me 100%. Because we are just human, people will read this, and I WILL get those humble replies like "well we are just layman compared to YOU" and I hate that.
There, I have said my peace. If you have any questions, ask and I will answer as best I can.
