ART HOBSON: In praise of SoNA

Music in these mountains one of life’s pleasures

We're privileged to live amid the magnificent Ozark Mountains while enjoying the best in sophisticated arts and entertainment. I've always loved music, and proudly earned a music degree in 1955. My heroes at the time included Stan Kenton, Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie, and I longed to play trombone in a cool jazz club for the rest of my life. Following a couple of years of playing with Army bands in Europe (I was drafted), I tried my luck in the Big Apple but soon discovered I didn't really have the "chops," primarily the highly attuned ear, of the pros. I was lucky enough to get a tryout with Benny Goodman's big band, but didn't make the cut. So I switched to physics (it's a long story).

Classical music seemed "square" to me during my jazz years. I favored the spontaneous dissonance of jazz over the measured harmonies of Beethoven and Brahms, although I did cater toward such 20th century classical composers as Stravinsky, Shostakovich and Bartok. If you think you don't like the modern classics, give a listen to Stravinsky's electrifying "The Rite of Spring" (to be performed by the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas -- SoNA -- May 4), Shostakovich's overwhelming Fifth Symphony or Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta.

Fayetteville is blessed with many fine local and visiting jazz musicians, often at the Walton Arts Center. To see what's happening, search on the Northwest Arkansas Jazz Society. And don't miss the Fayetteville Jazz Collective, a big band that can compete with the best, and I've heard many of the greats.

The classical music of the past few centuries is arguably our species' most stunning creation. It bursts with passion and intellect, now serenely simple, now excitingly complex, now achingly romantic, now powerful, now playful and always universally appealing. It's astonishing that a single human could conceptualize compositions as beautifully complex and subtle as, for example, the symphonies, sonatas and chamber music of Beethoven. These sounds touch our hearts and our minds and represent Homo sapiens' very best.

SoNA is a marvel. Music Director Paul Haas and his crew have assembled a remarkably talented array of performers. Members come from Arkansas and surrounding states, including several from the University of Arkansas.

Everybody can appreciate classical music. The main requirement is to pay attention, focusing your mind on the dominant melody. It's been said that the most precious thing you have to give in life is your attention, and your attention to the best of classical music is well worth the effort. If you are a novice at this, I suggest beginning with such irresistibly romantic pieces as Tchaikovsky's fourth, fifth, or sixth symphonies, the three piano concertos of Rubenstein, anything by Chopin, Mendelssohn's violin concerto. However, note that classical music is not only about romantic sentiments; it's about the full range of human feeling and intellect. Search on pianist Lang Lang's performance of Franz Liszt's poignant Liebestraum; let your body move with the music, as does the pianist. Played properly, it's heart-throbbing. At Liszt's concerts, ladies fought to claim his gloves, which he always removed prior to performance.

"What to Listen for in Music," a book by Aaron Copeland, composer of "Appalachian Spring" and the stirring "Fanfare for the Common Man," is a useful introduction for those who want to enhance their listening. His most important advice is to simply pay attention to the melody, or perhaps several simultaneous melodies -- a composing technique known as "counterpoint." Symphonies, concertos and many small-group compositions are usually written in three or four "movements" of varying moods. Typically, the first movement is intense, featuring two major "themes" (melodies) that mix and re-appear in various guises throughout the movement. The second movement is usually written in a simple form, often a passionate song, a second song, then back to the first song, an A-B-A structure. The third movement might be more rapid, sometimes a waltz, often also in the A-B-A form. The fourth movement is usually robust, sometimes in a so-called "rondo" (A-B-A-C-A-B-A) structure, or sometimes in a "theme and variations" format. Because the several movements comprise a unified work, it's best to wait until the end to applaud.

Music is often called the king of the arts. The sounds seems to speak directly to our nervous system, to our feelings, without intermediaries. The point of life is to enjoy our time here by living passionately, intelligently and humanely. In my humble opinion, nothing speaks more directly to this worthy end than good music.

Commentary on 04/09/2019

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