-- Books

Symphony Hall!

Logging all the *good* pieces I've seen live.

Later I can do individual blog posts maybe?

Violin Concertos

Other Concertos

Symphonies

Small Works

"Why classical music? You don't even play an instrument!"

Well dear reader, I'm glad you asked.

My brain is a nonstop chatterbox, so it's nice to have my earworms be melodies instead of lyrics. The lack of lyrics can also be meditative, letting my thoughts go where they will while still being somewhat guided by the vibe of the piece. Best of all, it's one hundred percent horny-free. Take that, pop music. Plus choosing one piece to listen to for the next 40 minutes and not worrying about shuffle whiplash is nice. Though I am kind of a front to back album listener when I do listen to regular music too. For concerts, the formality and rigidity of it all suits me so much better than any normal band would, especially as a solo traveler. Plus I get an excuse to wear my dressier clothes and feel *extremely* young compared to the average symphony-goer. Tying music to the memories of a good concert experience self-reinforces my love for it all.

Live Music Ratings

Violin Concertos (my favs)

Tchaikovsky

Violin Concerto

Concertgebouw

11/10

Augustin Hadelich; I mean duh it was amazing

Sibelius

Violin Concerto

PHX

10.5/10

Liza Ferschtman; impeccable

Saint-Saens

Violin Concerto no. 3

TSO

9.7/10

Francisco Fullana; very fun piece

Beethoven

Violin Concerto

TSO

8/10

Lauren Roth; my first concert ever, no idea how to listen yet hehe

Other Concertos

Sandoval

Trumpet Concerto no. 2

PHX

11/10

Arturo Sandoval; bro had *so* much fun up there

Beethoven

Piano Concerto no. 5 "Emperor"

TSO

10/10

Alessio Bax; super solid

Rachmaninoff

Piano Concerto no. 3

TSO

8.5/10

Olga Kern; cadenza 12/10

Symphonies + Major Works

Beethoven

no. 6 "Pastoral"

TSO

11/10

movement 4 rattling my bones

Elgar

Enigma Variations

PHX

10/10

bless the pre-concert talk for setting this up so well

Shostakovich

no. 5

TSO

10/10

Literally killed me

Rimsky-Korsakov

Scheherezade

PHX

10/10

Rolf Haas; with my grandma ^.^

Tchaikovsky

Francesa da Rimini

TSO

9.5/10

She deserves it ngl

Tchaikovsky

Rococo Variations

TSO

9/10

Julian Schwartz

Brahms

no. 4

Concertgebouw

9/10

not my fav piece, but good

Mahler

no. 6

TSO

8/10

hammer was fun; not enough attention span for a 90 minute piece

Small Works

Williams

Theme from Schindler's List

TSO

99/10

Itzhak Perlman, the man himself; the couple next to me holding hands ;;

Glinka

Ruslan and Ludmilla Overture

Concertgebouw

11/10

damn what a bop; the striiiings wow

Brahms

Academic Festival Overture

TSO

11/10

just good fun

Dukas

Sorcerer's Apprentice

PHX

10/10

poor mickey

Simon

Fate Now Conquers

TSO

10/10

Tchaikovsky

Waltz of the Flowers

TSO

10/10

Core memories from Nintendogs unlocked, RIP Max my choco lab

Bruch

Kol Nidrei

TSO

9/10

Julian Schwartz