Suzuki, Strauss, Stravinsky and Stefanie

So what was it?

Maybe it began with the years of Mrs. Primrose and the Suzuki method of ear training for violin repertoire.

Or it might have been old black and white movies and American musicals as a main source of family entertainment. Could it have been getting ready for school with Dad's NPR as the backdrop? Was it the myriad of theatrical performances seen on the BYU stage with Mom and Dad? Maybe it was the Daltons and their self-contained family orchestra. Perhaps it was the mother of a boy I dated -- she always had it on (and she had a world class selection).

By the time I reached London at age 18, it was something that soothed: Classical Music
I remember there were several days a week when our classes at Palace Court were over by 11:15am. If I raced, I could just make it to the Queensway tube stop, take the red line to the National Gallery, and catch the free noon time concerts at St. Martin's in the Fields Cathedral. "My I was Yar" (name that old movie).

Actually -- I wasn't yar, but I was young and hungry to learn and live. I remember visiting Salzburg (Mozart's birthplace) and pinching myself. I tried to imagine what it must have been like to have had the capacity to compose as he did.

Yesterday, as I was driving my Suburban (it seats 9, you know) to vote and visit the bread thrift store, Classical 89 was playing music from orchestras in the cities where McCain and Obama had lived. I smiled to myself. I like things like that. I feel like these kinds of people might share my same love for the Nomological Net -- a great big web of ideas that link things together.

In the evenings I like to have it on while preparing dinner. Then I get to hear what I can of the BBC World Report (I like the British accent). Sometimes there's a special program about a certain composer, or on Valentines Day they bring out some fantastic Aaron Copeland (and I always think of my Dad).

I guess what I've realized is that whether I know everything there is to know about classical music or not, my soul can find solace in its rhythm and patterns. And isn't that a wonderful thing?