Loud sounds elicit an emotional response. It’s one of the reasons rock concerts are so exciting, and elevator music is so boring. So how did people rock out before 500-watt speakers were invented?

That’s how. Thanks, Tchaikovsky!

Ask a Norwegian about Norwegian music, and without a doubt Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) will be the first composer mentioned.

Grieg’s music retains a strong hold in our culture, because he tends to write simple, 4-measure melodies that are easy to remember and fun to sing. It’s likely that you’ve heard his most-well-known piece “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” in which there is really only one melodic idea, repeated over and over again (hence, the reason you probably know it.) Today’s piece comes from the same set of pieces. “Morning Mood” follows a similarly simple form – one melody, presented a number of ways – nothing fancy, just lovely morning mood music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCEzh3MwILY

Sometimes these posts just write themselves.

The internet is exploding because of David Bowie’s death. One of Bowie’s most popular songs is “Space Oddity.” That title was adapted from the Stanley Kubrick film, “2001 – A Space Odyssey.” The soundtrack to that movie included some fantastic pieces of Art Music, especially Atmosphères by György Ligeti. Here, Ligeti does away with many of the traditional musical elements and instead explores texture and timbre. The piece speaks for itself; many love it, some hate it.

If you read Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks, there are some interesting tales of musical amusia. I wonder how people who suffer from this condition would hear Atmosphères.