A few words about Strings. Of all the modern instruments humans play, the violin family was the earliest to reach (relative) perfection of construction, around 1600. (Side note: the double bass is not in the violin family, but instead a “leftover” from the earlier viol family, and has a different tuning and body shape, among other things.) Strings are the reason we have symphony orchestras. Their range is massive, and they sound consistently good in any register. They don’t tire quickly (compared to winds or brass players), and the ear doesn’t tire of their sound. They are equally adept at slow, sustained music as they are with fast, agile passages. It’s no wonder that many composers enjoy writing for String Quartet. It’s like a completely blank canvas, or a mound of clay that can be shaped into practically anything.

I love spending Saturday mornings with a cup of tea and a String Quartet. So, here’s Beethoven‘s in C minor. Enjoy!

… to work.

After a nice long weekend and holiday, it’s going to take a Grande double-espresso Macchiato to get back into gear this morning. I’ll see your coffee and raise you a Mozart Overture to the Marriage of Figaro.

Here’s a little joke I heard about Ricardo Muti:

Muti is lost in the middle of a hot, dry desert. The burning sun is beating down on him, and he is miserable.
“Please, God,” (said in an Italian accent) “… please, just send me two drops of water. That’s all I ask, two drops of water!”
A second later, a small cloud forms above Muti. He holds out his hands in front of him, hoping God has heard his prayer. Two drops of water fall from the cloud and land, one in each of Muti’s palms.
“Thank you God!” Muti yells up to heaven. He claps his hands together, rubs them, then slicks his hair back.

… but it’s no matter if you laugh.

The word Scherzo is Italian for “I joke” or “I jest”. It’s also a very common title for the second or third movement of a symphony. (a movement is a complete musical piece that serves as a part of a larger musical work – for example, you might say “The Fellowship of the Ring” is the first movement of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.) Typically, a scherzo is in a very fast triple meter, which gives a musical character of lighthearted skipping. Perhaps it’s this jolly, carefree, dance feeling that gives these movements their name. I’ve also heard a theory that the “joke” of the scherzo is that it’s actually a minuet played so quickly that nobody could actually dance it (minuet movements were popular in symphonies before they were ultimately replaced by the scherzo.)

Joke or not, they are fun to listen to, and yes, they definitely make you want to skip around.

Ludwig van Beethoven needs no introduction. This Scherzo is from one of his most-loved symphonies, no. 7.