On Music

I am in love with music. It is where I find the most beauty in things. I am proud to say that music is what I have wept the most tears over. I listen to many different types of music for many different reasons and I would like to share that music and why I love it so much.

Minimalism

I listen to a great number of minimalist works. Minimalism, to me, is a type of mediation. I forces the mind to notice the smallest details within a repetitive and at times, frankly boring music. I am drawn to minimalism, for its meditative quality but also the way it allows me to work with a constant. I love having constants in my life, with the constant melody so prevalent, it offers me a base on which to push myself with a clear anchor into the real world.

Pieces:

• Music for 18 Musicians: Steve Reich

• Koyaanisqatsi: Philip Glass

• Einstein on the Beach: Philip Glass

• Short Ride in a Fast Machine: John Adams

Classical Music

Classical music is the most interesting thing I have ever found. The use of the so different sounds of a classical orchestra stirs in me emotions that I have not felt in many other places. The way that sound tells a story and conveys emotion is indescribable. I am very partial to "spectacle" pieces. Large and bombastic. The Russians and Germans have it figured out.

Pieces:

• 4th Symphony - Tchaikovsky

• 9th Symphony - Beethoven !!

• 3rd Symphony - Camille Saint-Saëns

• 9th (New World) Symphony - Dvorak

• Le Sacre Du Printemps - Stravinsky

• 15th Symphony - Shostakovich

• Pictures at an Exhibition - Mussorgsky

• The Pines of Rome - Respighi