New Music

Lately I've been on an iTunes purchasing spree. Yesterday I finally bought the "24 Hours of Classical Music" album, which is probably the best deal ever. I mean...how often do you get 316 tracks for $9.99?!? And for the most part, they're good recordings too. Major win. Then this evening I bought an album of Bruckner's sacred choral music. The first time I listened to it, I almost cried. That doesn't happen often, so I figured that it belonged in my music library. Since I've been buying so much music, I thought I should make a list of all the things I want to buy. Music, that is, not everything....

-Mahler's Symphony No. 2
-Schubert's Symphony No. 8 (the oboe has the main theme; it's a must-have)
-Saint-Saens' Organ Symphony
-Brahms' Symphony No. 3
-Mahler's Symphony No. 7
-Rachmaninoff's Symphonies No. 2 and 3
-Haydn's Symphony No. 96 (we're playing this in orchestra; also has a nice oboe part in the third movement)
-Haydn's Creation
-Dvorak's Symphony No. 8 (played this in orchestra last year)

The list could go on and on, but this is just what I came up with tonight. In some ways, I feel like my familiarity with the major works from the entirety of the musical repertoire is like my limited experience with fruits and vegetables. I know what I like, and I listen to the things I like all the time, but there are a large number of major works that I am unfamiliar with. For example, I couldn't have sung any of the themes from any of the Brahms symphonies until very recently, and even now I would probably have a hard time coming up with them immediately. Maybe it's because I don't really remember much of music that I haven't played unless it has a very singable melody. I don't know why that is; it's probably a skill that I could cultivate if I practiced it often enough. Maybe the "24 Hours of Classical Music" album will help me with that.

In other news, I'm going to a wedding tomorrow in Rhode Island. I've never been to RI, as far as I can recall. I can't imagine it's too much different from other northern east coast states, but we'll see if there are any huge culture shocks. Highly doubtful. Also, this will probably be the fanciest wedding I have ever attended and will probably ever attend, unless I suddenly acquire a multitude of very rich and engaged friends. That seems unlikely. I hope that I know all the rules for proper etiquette and common civility. If I do, everything will be fine. If I don't...well...I guess it could be awkward.