Tsaichovsky

Of classical music, there is no shortage of opinions, so I will offer no new ones here. Rather, in continuing our discussion on the definition of classic, let us consider music. The technical definition of classical music is any piece written in a certain style between 1750 and 1820. This is called the "Classical Era." However, classical music entails much more than Mozart and Haydn. I suppose most Americans would classify anything from Gregorian Chant to John Williams as classical. Others would limit it to orchestral music. While rehearsing Mendelssohn's Elijah in my college choir, I was appalled to learn that Mendelssohn's works were not considered classic by many because they lacked originality. I have often said that I did not become a composer because Mendelssohn has already written everything I would have written. But what is music in the first place? Music is art expressed through sound. Thus, a piece may be classic on two accounts. Either it calls a new sound music or it finds a new expression. Hence, Beethoven's 9th gets the nod for adding the voice as an orchestral instrument (anyone who has sung this piece knows all too well how different his use of voice is from the composer of an opera or oratorio). As for expression, what piece better depicts the triumph of victory in battle than Tsaichovsky's 1812 Overture? My first remembered exposure to classical music was this piece. At age 4, my parents bought me an LP containing this heroic work. I only ever listened to the side 2, because that was the one that had the cannon. To this day, I still get chills when the cannon go off. For that matter, every Tsaichovsky opus affects me likewise. I just listened to his 5th Symphony, and again I was captivated. I know very little of the technical aspects of Tsaichovsky's music. Whether he was muscially ingenuis or not I cannot say. His music has a way of sounding familiar from the first hearing. As the piece progresses, I never have to say, "that's not how it should go!" Somehow, he always knows how I think it should go. Yet, his mastery does not cease with familiarity. Each piece is a journey that transcends earthly reality. This, for me, is the difference between classical music and folk music. Folk music is familiar but not transcendant. Contemporary music is transcendant but not familiar. Therefore, the definition of classical music is perspective-dependent. From my vantage, Tsaichovsky was the pinnacle, and music has since not been the same.