[OT] Classical Music

[LightPhoenix]

If you've got the time, Tchaik 4, 5, and 6 fill out a nice little trilogy on dealing with life--fighting against truth, self-betrayal and ultimately despairing and committing suicide.

Also, while Mahler's 6th is "life sucks and then you die", I'll give a nod toward it being outdone in his 9th symphony "the world is evil, people suck, and you're ultimately going to let down the one you love most (in his case because he knew he was dying of a heart condition and going to leave his wife behind)." Of course in the end, he worked on his 10th symphony (unfinished), which changed the tone to "but at least I know I did the best I could".

Ooh, I can't believe I forgot the Tchaikovsky trilogy! I even played the 6th last year! Man, I'm having a rough week it seems.

And I just want to put forth the idea that Mahler was the first ever "Goth" musician. That aside, I actually find the 6th more tragic than the 9th, but that's just me. The third movement of the 6th just sets up the feeling of coming to peace with the end, and then it all crashes down in the last movement. The ninth is just dark overall. Spooky factoid - Mahler's wife begged him not to finish the Sixth Symphony, believing it was cursed. The three hammer-like blows at the end are said to represent the three tragedies he faced when he wrote it - he lost his son to a plague, he was diagnosed with some sort of cancer, and I thought the third was that his wife left him. Maybe I'm wrong, I'll have to look it up later.

And Dinkel, you definitely are now my favorite moderator, solely for being able to talk about Mahler