Intermezzo by GJ

Jean and I were watching a movie today, "A Song to Remember," about the life of composer Frederick Chopin. If you like Chopin, or similar, light classical piano, you'd enjoy this. Quite old, made in 1945, black and white, stars Cornell Wilde, Paul Muni, and Merle Oberon. The featured musical piece, not at all "light," is Chopin's Polonaise, which is either Poland's national anthem, or quite akin to it. Franz Liszt is quoted in the film as saying that Polonaise means "the spirit of Poland."

Movies about famous composers, no matter how distorted from truth, or "Hollywood-ized" are among my favorites. (I once dreamed, in adolescence, of playing the piano. Tried a few lessons, was told that playing by ear is bad, bad, bad, and that my finger-span is too short. (I measure it at 8" but that would only permit however many black keys that requires, of course. The white keys require a little downward curvature of the finger, right?)

I think that my love of a lot of classical music may be rooted in early childhood memories. My Mom had a wonderful, contralto voice, we had a "Victrola," and a lot of canaries in the house. I really believe that I must have heard her singing as she worked about the house. I lost her at age nine.

I especially love all of Beethoven's symphonies, those of Brahms, and a whole lot of musical com-positions called "Overtures." I believe that there are two kinds. One refers to the music that introduces a musical program, such as "Cats," and usually contains brief passages from the tunes one is about to hear, like a medley. The other appears to be a stand-alone work, such as "The 1812 Overture," by Tchaikovsky. (I must remember to dig into the difference, moreso, one day.
(Beethoven wrote one called "Egmont," which is deep, and dark, and heavy.) (Then, there is the "Light Cavalry Overture" we all know as the theme from the "Lone Ranger.") (I once played it for fifth-graders who immediately recognized the cadence of horses.)

I also believe that good music stirs the emotions like no other sound, unless we count the cries or laughter of children. ("Our song," from 1946, is "To Each His Own," by Eddy Howard." Do you and your spouse have a song? Write a memoir about it.) There is a cafe not far from here where an accordionist/singer plays while customers dine, and whenever Jean and I go in, he plays ours for us! Sort of "makes" the evening!