Classical Convert

Saint-Saëns and Cell Biology, and How I Got Into Classical

One of the most exciting things about this updated version of Wordpress is that you can bring up a fancy little character-map type deal, so as to easily insert all those wild decorated characters. Like that one up there, perched on the title line. Seriously, inserting that character was basically the most exciting thing that has happened to me in the last hour and a half, due to studying. Oh studying. How you tease me with your frequent absence, but inevitable recovery.

To make matters more bearable I completely pumped up the key, the gate, the music which got me into the world of classical in the first place. Which, you may not too cunningly have guessed, is by Mister Camille Saint-Saëns. Necessary umlaut guy.

The piece in question is his piano concerto number two. It was this piece, which, just beyond four years ago during the epic emotional crisis and mess of my first year in graduate school, grabbed on to me. That was the entry, the accidental engagement. It was innocently serving as background music due to being one of the few classical CDs I owned (all of which were purchased as one of those 3 for fifteen quid deals) and was on repeat to save me from getting up from my work/self-pity. All of a sudden — and it truly was suddenly — a melody existed which through all the previous listens had not.

It was the one after the intro in the first movement. From there I worked through that movement, listening over and over again. Then to the excitable, driving third. The second sounded way too tinkly and pretty back then, although I like it loads now. Inspired, I bought a set of all five of the piano concertos.

That’s how it all began for me. And that’s the end of story-time for tonight.

Why I Am Not Qualified

I have no qualifications. None to write-on about music in the blabbing way that this site makes me do, anyway. I had piano lessons when I was just a wee young whippersnapper of a lad, maybe thirteen years old (oh those glory years only the masochist in me misses) but those were not classical, oh no oh no. Those were jazzy. Those were songs we ripped together out of my mum’s old Beatles songbook and were jazzed up with sevenths and incidentals and stuff. I can still play a decent rendition of Strawberry Fields Forever. Aside from that, and (in hindsight a pretty abortive) attempt to take classical guitar lessons when I really was a young kid, that’s almost all of the musical experience I have.

I didn’t even really listen to classical music until fairly recently. Interestingly, my fantastic and glorious renaissance (it was a world changing event for pretty much everyone in the world I’m sure) wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for my mum buying me a three-for-fifteen-quid deal on HMV brand classical CD’s one time when she visited in Bristol. I chose Saint-Saens (because I remembered liking “Carnival of the Animals” as a kid), Gorecki (because there was a track on an album by Lamb called that) and Mozart (because the keyboard I learned piano on had Symphony 40 as a demo song). I recall not really listening to them much. Except for the end of the Saint-Saens Organ Symphony, with the melody they used in Babe (I remember clearly it was playing when Alys brought over Champagne to store in our hallway-fridge before the final exam in Bristol, that’s almost prescient).

When it really hit was in the spring of my first year at Cornell, when the same CD was playing. Probably because I wanted some background music. It was the Saint-Saens piano concerto no. 2 which hit me first. That was the first piece of classical music that made sense. I wish I could pin down the day, or even month. It’s a date well worthy of recognition and celebration! Maybe I can check my Amazon orders for when I ordered the set of the Saint-Saens piano concertos…

…well look at that! March 5th, 2003. That was a Wednesday. I seem to remember discovering it while being on my computer in the middle of the day, which places it around the 1st or 2nd of March. Almost three years ago. And surprisingly soon after my horrible breakup that year. Wow… this could go on much longer. I’d like to keep pushing through my Amazon orders and see what comes back to me.