THE HEALING POWER OF MUSIC

For the past four weeks, I've been in Southern California while a member of my family deals with a serious health problem. While this person is receiving treatment, I've been the proverbial chief cook and bottle washer for the family.

I can't say this situation is easy, but I can say that I'm where I need to be. Anyone who has faced an ordeal like this understands the stress that the situation presents: the uncertainty of the outcome; the need to keep the family routine as normal as possible; and most important, the need for the caregiver to be as emotionally strong and grounded as possible, given the difficult circumstances. That's why when the local classical music radio station announced that it would be broadcasting Beethoven's 9th Symphony on Tuesday afternoon, I made sure to set aside the 70 minutes to listen to it in its entirety.

William Congreve once wrote "Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast. To soften rocks, or bend the knotted oak." And lately I have definitely been feeling like a knotted, twisted, gnarly, not-so-mighty oak. So I looked forward to hearing what I consider one of the wonders of the musical world, where "uncertain questions about life, the universe, and everything are asked and answered" as Jeffrey Kacmarczyk wrote in November 2008 in his review of a performance of the 9th by the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra. It was the perfect piece of music for me to listen to at this time. I am always thrilled to hear it, and this time the thrill was from its ability to transport me from a place of many uncertain questions to a place where those questions were incidental to what the composer was telling me. He was telling me "Yes." Well not just me, he said it to "Alle Menschen! Alle Menschen! Alle Menschen!"

After the performance, I was calmer, more hopeful, and I began to think about the different genres of music that have this power over me--the ability to change my mood, to help me cope with whatever difficulties I'm facing--to heal me.

I never learned to play a musical instrument and regret that, but I am a devoted listener to all kinds of music--classical is my go-to choice when I need comfort or a deeply felt musical experience. I go with 70s and 80s rock when I'm working out or doing a fast walk, I absolutely adore Mississippi Delta Blues, and am a fan of Hound Dog Taylor--love his "Gimme Back My Wig and Let Your Head Go Bald." I also am a fan of Zydeco, American Folk, Jazz, Country-Western [Patsy Cline era] Broadway Musicals, 60s Rock and Roll, all sorts of ethnic music; and because my parents were from Italy, I even learned to love opera, and have been to The Met in New York and La Scala in Milan. On a trip to Italy years ago, I made a Verdi pilgrimage. I started the day in Roncoli Verdi, outside of Parma, where Verdi was born, went on to Bussetto, where he studied music and met his first wife, Margarita, then on to Sant'Agata, his estate where he lived with his lover, Giuseppina Strepponi, who became his second wife (Verdi's first wife and son and daughter died tragically of illness early on in their marriage), then finished up in Milan with a visit to La Scala and the hotel where he died. I did a Puccini pilgrimage as well, and finished that tour by eating the famous Tuscan dish "pappardelle con lepre" [a sauce of wild hare over wide noodles] in the town, Torre del Lago, where Puccini lived and had his scandalous affair.

Wouldn't it be great if the Clear Channel radio stations that carry the likes of Limbaugh, et.al., and their destructive messages to the American people carried, instead, three hours of gorgeous, uplifting symphonic music. Perhaps this would contribute more to our national decorum and effect a reduction in hate speech and rancor, so prevalent in our daily lives. It could also help the GOP deal with their minority status in a more calm and hopeful way. Could we hope for a "Trade in Your Rush for Rackmaninoff Day?"

Imagine.


While Beethoven's 9th is among my top ten favorite classical compositions, there are many, many more. I'd like to share some of them (only certain movements and parts of the concerti are linked) with you and encourage everyone to enjoy and treasure them as I do and perhaps turn to these sublime masterpieces, as I have, when the world is too much with me.


Beethoven's 9th Symphony


Mahler's Symphony #2, "Resurrection"

Schubert's String Quintet in C Major


Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro

Mozart's concerto for harp and flute


Beethoven's Piano Concerto #5

Beethoven's 7th Symphony


Brahm's Violin Concerto in D Major

Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major


Mozart's Requiem, Lacrimosoa