Hodges describes classical music as a genre "at the dusty peak of Western high art, one in which contemporary American culture is increasingly less interested."
Have Hodges's reflections or her accompanying playlist enhanced your appreciation for this art form? What were your impressions of classical music before and after reading the book?
2. Did Hodges’s reflections or playlist change how you feel about classical music?
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Our program is here to foster an inclusive, welcoming environment for all readers. To keep our community respectful and engaging, please follow these guidelines:
• Be kind and considerate to others.
• Stay on topic, keep discussions constructive, and use appropriate language.
• Trolling, spamming, harassment, or hate speech will not be tolerated.
• Share only original, non-copyrighted material and appropriate content.
• Do not post or share personal details about yourself or others, including real names, addresses, or any other identifying information.
• Do not post anything illegal, threatening, or otherwise harmful.
• Moderators reserve the right to remove content or suspend users who violate these guidelines.
• Users are responsible for their own posts, and our platform is not liable for user-generated content.
• Report issues instead of escalating, and respect moderator decisions.
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smkelly
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2025 7:35 pm
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erebus
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Wed Apr 23, 2025 5:03 am
Re: 2. Did Hodges’s reflections or playlist change how you feel about classical music?
Just thought I should probably post a link to the Gabriela Montero video that the author refers to with regards improvisation.
• Gabriela Montero - Improvisations, Brahms & Ginastera (Full Performance)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkXG-2LukrE
Personally as a musician I was first a singer and listener and when I picked up musical instruments it was to create my own music.
I always felt a strong sense that historic forms of music should be preserved, but at the same time I never took to the stringent discipline required to "play whatever is written on the page".
Reading this book pretty much reinforces a lot of how I feel about the history, and colonialism of music. Listening to school choirs singing Anglicised versions of North American Black spirituals, feels so clinical - a real mismatch for songs that are supposed to elicit joy, hope, awe and togetherness. I was a teenager before I really started to notice this. I had been raised in my earliest years listening to everything from Bach and Tchaikovsky to Pink Floyd and Joni Mitchell, and all those Jim Henson songs... and people looked at me with great suspicion in the 90s when I likened a lot of Baroque music to Techno or EDM (I feel vindicated by how many rap and electronica artists now use Canon in D).
When I was about 12 several adults asked me where I had "learned all the songs I sang" (or hummed or whistled). I was only just beginning to learn that some people think that music is re-creating something they heard; it never occurred to them that people can make up their own.
• Niccolo Paganini - La campanella
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ruHDWSNvB8
and omg Paganini, what a rockstar. Kind of like a stunt-violinist (similar to Steve Vai's "stunt guitarist" status).
The mad pizzicato, aggressive percussive bow attack on the strings.. more like a snare drum, and those ridiculous chords and harmonics.. is all supposed to sound fun, energetic, whimsical and free.. but SO TECHNICALLY DIFFICULT to recreate.
It honestly sounds like he decided.. it's too hard to find a piccolo player so I'll just make my violin sound like a flute.
• Gabriela Montero - Improvisations, Brahms & Ginastera (Full Performance)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkXG-2LukrE
Personally as a musician I was first a singer and listener and when I picked up musical instruments it was to create my own music.
I always felt a strong sense that historic forms of music should be preserved, but at the same time I never took to the stringent discipline required to "play whatever is written on the page".
Reading this book pretty much reinforces a lot of how I feel about the history, and colonialism of music. Listening to school choirs singing Anglicised versions of North American Black spirituals, feels so clinical - a real mismatch for songs that are supposed to elicit joy, hope, awe and togetherness. I was a teenager before I really started to notice this. I had been raised in my earliest years listening to everything from Bach and Tchaikovsky to Pink Floyd and Joni Mitchell, and all those Jim Henson songs... and people looked at me with great suspicion in the 90s when I likened a lot of Baroque music to Techno or EDM (I feel vindicated by how many rap and electronica artists now use Canon in D).
When I was about 12 several adults asked me where I had "learned all the songs I sang" (or hummed or whistled). I was only just beginning to learn that some people think that music is re-creating something they heard; it never occurred to them that people can make up their own.
• Niccolo Paganini - La campanella
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ruHDWSNvB8
and omg Paganini, what a rockstar. Kind of like a stunt-violinist (similar to Steve Vai's "stunt guitarist" status).
The mad pizzicato, aggressive percussive bow attack on the strings.. more like a snare drum, and those ridiculous chords and harmonics.. is all supposed to sound fun, energetic, whimsical and free.. but SO TECHNICALLY DIFFICULT to recreate.
It honestly sounds like he decided.. it's too hard to find a piccolo player so I'll just make my violin sound like a flute.
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Dee
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Fri May 16, 2025 8:24 pm
Re: 2. Did Hodges’s reflections or playlist change how you feel about classical music?
They did not change how I feel about classical music, but as a History/Secondary Education Major I learned more about the composers she described, and I feel like I have a better understanding of them and what may have driven them.