… sort of.

Think about love and Romeo and Juliet always seem come to mind. The story is ancient, but still continues to speak to us; it continues to be remade and recycled even to this day. As we all know, it’s doesn’t end well for the lovers. So, if you’re making Valentine’s Day plans, better steer clear of wooing your partner with references to R. or J.

Instead of the play, you could put on this music by Tchaikovsky, which has become the unofficial music of passionate love, found in all sorts of cartoons, commercials, and other entertainment (the best example of this being, of course, Ren & Stimpy.)

And, if you’re single this weekend, you can still enjoy this music, knowing those blasted lovers don’t get to experience the happiest of endings.

(3rd part in a series – the whole symphony will be played throughout the month)

William Grant Still was the first African-American to conduct a symphony orchestra as well as the first to have his symphonic music and operas played by a major orchestra. It’s no wonder he’s known as “the Dean” of African-American Composers.

Back when I was in college (music conservatory), a major component of American music history was finding a true American voice, distinct from European Art Music. Some composers simply copied the European style. Dvorak was convinced the American voice would come from the melodies of the Native Americans. Then there’s Copland‘s very popular “American” sound and style of composition (might Daugherty, whom we heard yesterday, be the next Copland?) And of course, there are the composers like Gershwin who adopted African-American styles as their own.

So where does that leave William Grant Still? His first symphony, “Afro-American”, is in four movements, and has more character than the Second New England School, all the richness of Dvorak’s “New World Symphony”, far more depth than any of Copland’s popular works, and can claim the African-American heritage better than Gershwin can. Everybody should know this music.

Like many symphonies, the second movement is slow and lyrical. Lush, jazz-inspired harmonies and blue-note melodies abound.

Dudamel‘s back again. Expect to see him a lot.

This is one crazy video. Crazy-awesome, that is. I love how the audience is so into the music, they are standing up, dancing, clapping, cheering, throwing stuff. Why not? How can you sit still in this sort of atmosphere, with this music? And wow, those musicians nail it, even while standing up and dancing! Have a great Mardi Gras!

Leonard Bernstein‘s Mambo from West Side Story:

There are plenty of accounts that European and American audiences used to be this rowdy at concerts. The current “stuffy” atmosphere at Art Music concerts is often blamed on: 1) the late 19th century rise of the middle-class, which sought ways to distinguish itself from the lower class, and thus created a set of “rules” for concert-going; 2) the subtle but long-running smear-campaign against Art Music in movies & TV (who listens to Art Music? The losers, the squares, the fuddy-duddies, and the bad guys, who invariably have English accents); 3) Gustav Mahler.