So the coronavirus has struck the world and is leaving its mark. I don’t know where everyone is who reads this, but suffice it to say, we’re all feeling the difference.
Art and music are actually fairly intertwined…a number of artists played instruments. Paul Klee was well-known for playing his violin before painting every day. Wassily Kandinsky was a synesthete , who SAW sounds as undulating colors and shapes. But then again, the word “art” derives from a Latin term: Artem, meaning “a skill as a result of learning and practice.”
The moment you say, “practice”, music comes to mind.
I created these packets for the three composers we studied this year at my homeschool co-op, and I hope you might find them useful in some way while we are stuck at home. They were originally based to go with “Classical Music for Dummies” (A book I HIGHLY recommend, by the way!) and their selections of music. So these were supposed to be read along with:
- Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, 1st Movement
- Brhams’s 4th Symphony, 1st Movement
- Dvorak’s Serenade for Strings, 4th Movement
I enjoyed getting to “know” these composers and their relationships to each other. They were interesting people, with unusual quirks, and challenges and stories. What do you do as a musician who is deaf? What do you do when you’re 26 years old and have been announced “The musical heir of Beethoven?” What do you do when you’ve been offered the chance to help develop the “musical sound” of another nation thousands of miles away?
I hope you enjoy these packets and explore the various composers. The story of the 5th Symphony was one I loved, when I discovered it three years ago, and re-wrote it this year. I completed one on Brahms’s Lullaby, but my computer re-booted as I reached the end, and somehow, the auto-save function was turned off! (I nearly cried!) Oh well. I still have the knowledge, I can do it again…just not now.
Stay safe out there, and enjoy spreading your musical wings while we wait!