Music: my main source of sanity

ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

When I hear music, I fear no danger. I am invulnerable. I see no foe. I am related to the earliest of times, and to the latest.

– Henry David Thoreau

Music has been and continues to be my main source of sanity during this insane time. I have self-quarantined in the company of my wife since March 11 of 2020, enjoying the outdoors in our backyard and otherwise reading and doing a lot of listening to music and thereafter writing about it. Here are some of the cures that have helped me along:

Stewart Goodyear His recordings of anything are an addictive cure to Covid19 depression, especially his recording of the Beethoven piano concertos with Andrew Constantine leading the BBC Orchestra of Wales.

Time stops every time I listen to the clarinet quintets of Mozart and Brahms played by the Alexander String Quartet and clarinetist Eli Eban in a Foghorn Records CD.

Mozart in Havana released by SONY features Simone Dinnerstein playing two Mozart concerti with the Havana Lyceum Orchestra led by José Antonio Méndez takes me on a trip to Salzburg and back via my birth hometown.

On a number of on-line radio stations and on You Tube I listen to everything from Brazilian pop music to French and Italian Baroque.

On more than one occasion watching her on TV specials I have been reminded of what a great singing artist Audra McDonald is.

At home I am often spoiled by my wife’s playing and singing of favorites from the Great American Songbook.

Published by ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Rafael de Acha has enjoyed a distinguished career in the arts as a performer, stage director, producer, and educator. He was born and grew up in Cuba. At the age of 17 he moved to the United States to study Drama at the University of Minnesota, and later Languages at L.A. City College, Music at the Juilliard School of Music, at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, and at the New England Conservatory of Music, from which he received the Master's degree. He has taught courses on the History of Music at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and at Florida International University, and contributed writings and reviews to Seen and Heard International (www.seenandheard-international.com ) and to this blog. He co-founded the award-winning New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, where he produced and staged twenty seasons of classical and contemporary theater, including fifty world premieres of plays that went on to have international and national productions on and off Broadway, including Ana in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2002 and Tony Nomination 2003.) In 2006 he was presented with a citation from The Dade County Cultural Affairs Council for “trailblazing contributions to the arts in South Florida.”

2 thoughts on “Music: my main source of sanity”

  1. Music is an excellent way to relax. Some magic is present in the music. It can connect with past times as well as the present. It was the only source of hope for many in this challenging time.

    Appreciate that you shared your favourite music. Particularly, people will love the Stewart Goodyear recording with Andrew Constantine. Thank you.

    Like

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