Does Norway have a 4th of July? Yes, but they call it “May 17th.”

Fun Fact #1: Scandinavia has way more heavy metal bands per capita than anywhere else in the world.

Edvard Grieg is unquestionably Norway’s most iconic composer. When he was born, Norway was a very poor country – in the eyes of mainland Europeans, it was the sticks, full of country bumpkins and fishermen (and burnt-out Vikings). Grieg helped forge a national identity through his marvelous music, which often incorporated Norwegian folk songs and legends. He only wrote one concerto, but it was and is so popular that quite frankly he didn’t need to write another one. The Piano Concerto in A minor incorporates some traditional Norwegian dances, as well as some less-traditional Nordic heavy metal. Just listen to the opening – is that not totally metal?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VctuKi7QwcM

Fun Fact #2: Grieg’s melodic phrases are almost invariably four-measures long. (hmm, I suppose that’s not as fun as fact #1 …)

Spanish composer Joaquín Turina’s most famous work is Danzas Fantasticas, a suite of three dances that contain great Spanish flair. The suite was inspired by a novel, from which Turina included quotations for each movement. The third movement, Orgia (ooh, you’re making me blush!), was inspired by these particularly flowery, aromatic words:

The perfume of the flowers merged with the odor of manzanilla, and from the bottom of raised glasses, full of the incomparable wine, like an incense, rose joy.

We all have different music we seek out when we are in a particular mood. When you’re itching for a certain song, piece, or genre, take a second and think: what is driving you to that music? Nostalgia, passion, love, sadness, joy, weariness?

What a piece of music means to one person might be completely different to another. One person finds a song to be deep, meaningful, and sacred to his/her soul; another enjoys the same song because it is “hummable”; another person finds it shallow and trite. Can one be right, and the others wrong? Can two, or all three be right at the same time? Does the composer of a piece, or the performers, have any say in what is being expressed, or is beauty simply in the ear of the beholder? Is there a universal beauty? Does it even matter what the composer or performer is expressing? Does it matter what the audience response is? If a composer’s intention doesn’t evoke the correct response in the listener (even if the response is a positive one), is the piece a failure? Does the composer even matter, or is s/he just a random collection of carbon-based molecules that happened to arrange dots on a page in a way that causes musicians to move their limbs in a certain matter which causes air to vibrate which tickles some weird nerves in our ears?

I could go on, but I’ve said enough. Being a human is confusing at times. At some point, we need to let go of all that, embrace our humanity, and just dive into what lifts us out of the muck and mire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7etjqZmAGs