Playing and listening to music

Written Dec 15, 2022, tagged under post

This evening was the final orchestra rehearsal of the year. We spent the first hour playing through some repertoire - basically sight-reading our way through some nice music for fun. Today's choice was Mozart's symphony No 41 in C Major. Then the second half was more of a "social", with some mulled wine and mince pies etc.

Playing through the Mozart reminded me of a weird effect I sometimes notice with music choice. On the whole, if I come across music I enjoy listening to, I feel like I'd definitely be interested in having a shot at playing it. On the other hand, there are some bits of music that I really enjoy playing, but would never sit down and listen to. Today's music falls into this category.

Mozart was pretty clearly a genius composer. He does write lovely tunes, and there's a wonderful perfection in the music. However, I basically never sit down to listen to Mozart - it just isn't really my bag. I'm far more likely to listen to either more contemporary music, or more modern classical. A lot of the music I have on is gym music, for instance - functional, with the desired BPM for running and so on. Alternatively I might be looking for some more rock-type music. In all these genres there is to be found great tunes, hooks, harmonies and emotional content.

Playing the Mozart was pretty exciting - there was some good sight-reading to be had, and flute parts tend to be full of exposed tunes that bring everything together, which encourages focus. Perhaps we'll do it for an upcoming concert too - I'd have no complaints, given this evening's experience. But my natural tendency would not be to put it on for listening enjoyment. Perhaps I should give that a try, and prepare to be surprised...

Photo by Alberto Bigoni on Unsplash