I heard a great anecdote while I was studying at the music conservatory: during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a bass player was sharing an elevator at the conservatory with a woman who was completely out of sorts over the impending doom of nuclear war. “What if they bomb us today? What will we do? What will happen to our world?” She went on and on, working herself into a frenzy of hysteria and anxiety. Finally, the bass player looked over at her and said, “Lady, I have to practice,” left the elevator and walked to his practice room.

Some of us are born to be social activists. Some, like me, are not. The last few weeks in the US have become pretty intense. I despise all this ugliness. Everybody is guilty of it. I find myself searching for and needing some beauty to neutralize the poison. I don’t know this cellist, but I know he’s like me. From his facebook post:

“With all the recent stuff that has happened in society, it has really taken a toll on me mentally/emotionally. My heart is hurting and there’s nothing I can really say. So since music is the thing I know best I figured I’d just play. Here’s a bit of Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber. “

Barber’s incredibly famous Adagio for Strings has kept his name among the top 20th century American composers. It is originally a movement from his String Quartet; upon hearing it for the first time, he immediately knew he had written a real winner. He arranged it for many different ensembles, but it is best known as a work for string orchestra or chorus (using the text “Agnus Dei“). It was played at the funerals of JFK, FDR, Albert Einstein, and many more, and is used in numerous video games, TV shows, and movies (most memorably, Platoon).

Quick lesson for non-musicians: the word “opus” (often abbreviated to op.) means “work”. Composers catalog their works by opus number, which generally go in chronological order.

Many composers had their musical beginnings early in childhood, writing pieces for themselves to play, experimenting with music on paper. With the exception of Mozart, these compositions are usually just childhood games, and at best might amuse music aficionados who are curious about a composers’ early thoughts. When a composer grows up and begins to pursue “adult” composition, they begin to assign opus numbers. Opus One is probably not the first piece s/he ever wrote, but it represents the first piece that s/he releases to the world as representation of his/her contribution to Art Music.

If you are older than 25, you might think back to those early years of adulthood. A young composer’s early music reflects many of the same conflicts that many of us went through at this time. An opus one might be very conservative, trying to please one’s elders. It might be extremely edgy, trying to buck tradition and the establishment. It might be a desperate cry for attention; it might be an attempt to find some peace.

Opus One can also provide an interesting framework once a composer dies – you can listen to how far a person has come, and consider what caused him/her to change. Mention Stravinsky, and most people immediately think of the Rite of Spring, one of his earliest works (and one of his edgiest.) But after that period, Stravinsky wrote a ton of music which in no way resembles those early ballets. He came a long way, but most people know him for his early stuff.

Carl Nielsen is considered the iconic composer of Denmark. His Opus One is fairly conservative compared to his later music – a Suite for Strings.

Edward MacDowell was an American romantic composer who wrote symphonic music on par with the European tone poem masters of his time. However, as he was an American, most American audiences today don’t know his music. Time to bring him back!

His most famous piece is a short little “ditty”, akin to many of the short pieces by Grieg that were popular at the time. It doesn’t represent the depth of his musical vision, which is akin to the great works of Richard Strauss. Anyway, here is “To a Wild Rose” – since we all know what April showers bring …