Times are tough. We all need to find a way to get through, and the right music definitely helps. Here are some recent finds. Humor, flexibility, and great ingenuity are hallmarks here.
Have you seen the No Corona version of Nessun dorma by Daniel Emmet?
How about the Covid-19 Bach fugue by Nicholas Papdimitriou? This is incredible.
And now, a great concert for you! Pianist Alexander Krichel gave a live drive-in classical piano concert that you can now see online. Car horns and flashing headlights replace applause (it works better than you’d think). The upside? No coughing, cell phones ringing, or candy wrappers crackling (other than perhaps from your family members, whom you can probably shush). Krichel introduces the pieces in German, there are no subtitles available, but there is captioning of the title at the beginning of each piece. You can see it at: https://www1.wdr.de/mediathek/video/radio/wdr3/video-autokino-meets-klassik–alexander-krichel-spielt-beethoven-und-liszt-100.html
When life gives you lemons, don’t just make lemonade, make lemon sorbet.
Here’s another tip, not necessarily a musical one, but one you might consider. A friend who lives far away and I have started exchanging photos. Typically, it’s flower pictures (they have a tremendous rose garden), but not always. It doesn’t have to be flowers, it could be a meme, or an animal picture, a photo you take on a walk (if permitted) (added benefit: your picture-taking gets better), a happy memory photo, or a link to some great music, whatever works for you. It doesn’t need to be every day–no pressure (we have enough)! And you know what happens? You end up looking for beauty, or levity, and actually start seeing it amidst gloom and chaos. If you know someone who might be interested in this, why not suggest an informal exchange? Wouldn’t it be nice to see something happy in your inbox or on your phone?
And as Daniel Emmet says in his aria, vinceremo [we will win]!
Thanks to reader Paul B for alerting me to the fugue!
Catapulting into Classical 