when\what attracted you to classical music??

for me i was near 40 years old entering a hotel lobby for a business conference. there was soft music playing in background and instantly my entire body relaxed. i dont have worry hearing the same junk all day everyday for decades...GIVE ME A BREAK STORES!! i will take something 500 years old over anything new every time!!

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DrWatson · 70-79, M

I took piano lessons as a kid, but that did not make me love classical music. It was a chore. And looking back on it, I was so concerned about hitting the right notes and getting the right one-and-two-and-three-and rhythm, that I never actually "heard" what I was playing, even though I was playing them "well" in a technical sense.

Yes, my parents played classical records, and they and my music teacher took me to concerts, but none of that did it either.

What turned the corner for me was an incident when I was in graduate school in mathematics. One of the math professors also had a music degree from Julliard. One evening he gave a free piano recital, and I figured I would go listen to him.

He played a lot of the pieces that I played as a kid. I was absolutely amazed, and excited, to listen to them and to finally "understand" them, to really hear them. So THAT's what that is supposed to sound like! It was as if the composers finally were able to speak to me.

I can't say that I am a real expert on classical music today, but I enjoy listening to it, and I can find it quite moving. And I especially enjoy listening to piano pieces!

SethGreene531 · M

@DrWatson [media=https://youtu.be/ijEiwBLCXeo?t=91]

DrWatson · 70-79, M

@SethGreene531 I remember that episode. I loved it!

SethGreene531 · M

@DrWatson
Deftly wielding humor as a panacea for insanity; its slapstick belied thinly veiled life lessons, and profound truths.

This scene is no exception.
It ranks as a series great, and my standout favorite.
Winchester's words ring true for me. Speaking to the soul of the artist yearning to be expressed.

Dressing drama as comedy, MASH illuminated the human condition in all its glaring frailties.
And the character of its players, in a form that was familiar: ourselves.
This is the genius that was MASH.

DrWatson · 70-79, M

@SethGreene531 I agree with everything you just said.

I also like this episode for another reason. Over time, the show eventually began to show us that Charles had a depth of humanity beneath that snobbish Bostonian veneer.

Another that comes to mind is the Christmas episode with a scene between him and Klinger that made me get a little teary: "The source of this gift must remain completely anonymous."

SethGreene531 · M

@DrWatson Precicesly! Winchester's character was devloped in later seasons, with a refreshing sensitivity and depth.

In stark contrast to his Boston aristocracy and arrogance, it was tremoundously refreshing.

That Christmas episode, is some of their best writing. Incensed, finding his gift to the orphans squandered, Klinger glimpses the real Charles. And the reason he'd only offered up canned oysters at the mess party.

In the spirit of Winchester family tradition, Klinger says..with soft eyes..."The source of this gift, must remain completely anonymous "

Also notable, on Mulchay's leading, Radar writes Winchester's mother to have his childhood toboggan hat mailed for the Christmas party gifts.
Charles's reaction is beautiful "Radar, you saved me; you lowered a bucket into the well of my despair and you saved me!!"

Moments like these bring the tears, and it feels good to be alive.