I'M MARTIN GOLDSMITH, AND THIS IS MY MUSIC.
TONIGHT WE'RE GOING TO TAKE YOU BACK WITH SOME REAL OLDIES FROM THE 16th AND 17th CENTURIES.
WE'LL MEET MANY OF THE GREAT MASTERS AND TELL THEIR STORIES.
I PROMISE YOU AN EXHILARATING RIDE.
ALONG THE WAY YOU'RE LIKELY TO HEAR MELODIES THAT YOU KNOW BUT PERHAPS YOU DON'T KNOW WHY.
TONIGHT MEET THE MASTERS, NEXT ON PBS.
WE BEGIN OUR JOURNEY IN AUSTRIA WITH MOZART, ONE OF THE GREATEST COMPOSERS THIS PLANET HAS EVER PRODUCED.
HE WAS A CHILD PRODIGY, THEN AN AMAZINGLY PROLIFIC ADULT, EVEN THOUGH HE ONLY LIVED TO BE 35 YEARS OLD.
YOU THINK ABOUT BEAUTY AND INSPIRATION, BEETHOVEN, MOZART, INCREDIBLE.
PHENOMENAL KIND OF MUSIC, MUSIC THAT EXPRESSES HAPPINESS OF HUMANITY.
THE IMPORTANT THING ABOUT LISTENING TO MUSIC, AND WHAT YOU WANT, IS AN EMOTIONAL REACTION.
IT CAN BE SAD, IT CAN BE JOY, IT CAN BE UPLIFTING, IT CAN MAKE YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR OWN PERSONAL THINGS.
I MEAN, MUSIC IS ABSTRACT, SO IT ALLOWS FOR A LOT OF INTERPRETATION AND PERSONAL REFLECTION, BUT THE POINT IS YOU WANT TO FEEL.
YOU KNOW, FOR ME, THAT'S WHAT MAKES ME FEEL ALIVE IS JUST FEELING THINGS.
LIKE THAT FIRST CUP OF COFFEE IN THE MORNING, MM MMM!
GRIEG KNOWS HOW TO START YOUR DAY.
HE CALLED THIS MORNING MOOD.
FOR ME, WHEN I HEAR BACH, I JUST HEAR THE ENTHUSIASM OF LIFE.
Goldsmith: JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH.
20th CENTURY ROCK GROUPS LIKE THE BYRDS USED HIS 18th CENTURY RIFFS.
YOU KNOW THE MUSIC OF BACH, EVEN WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECT IT.
SPOOKY.
I AM FREE NOW AND ALIVE!
THE CHAINS WITH WHICH SHE BOUND ME ARE BROKEN, AND I'VE RETURNED TO LIVE THE LIFE I NEVER HAD.
WHEREVER THAT MAY TURN OUT TO BE.
THINGS THAT IMPACT ME THE MOST ARE THINGS THAT SOMEHOW SPEAK TO ME PERSONALLY.
I DON'T ALWAYS KNOW WHY THEY SPEAK TO ME PERSONALLY, BUT SOMETHING ABOUT THAT PIECE IN THAT MOMENT JUST STRIKES A CHORD FOR ME, AND IT JUST...IT...
IT CAPTURES ME, AND I CAN'T QUITE TURN AWAY FROM IT, SO I INDULGE THAT.
ANOTHER MUSICAL TITAN IS LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN.
HE WROTE THIS ONE FOR HIS 17-YEAR-OLD STUDENT WHO MAY HAVE BEEN HIS MYSTERIOUS, SECRET LOVE.
WE MAY NEVER KNOW.
FIVE YEARS AFTER BEETHOVEN DIED, A MUSIC CRITIC WROTE THAT THIS PIECE REMINDED HIM OF THE MOON SHINING ON LAKE LUCERNE.
THAT'S WHY IT'S CALLED THE MOONLIGHT SONATA.
CLASSICAL MUSIC IS ALL AROUND US IN MOVIES, COMMERCIALS, AND TV SHOWS.
IN THE 1960s, THE SECOND MOVEMENT OF BEETHOVEN'S NINTH SYMPHONY WAS AN NBC NEWS THEME.
AND OF COURSE, THERE WAS THE LONE RANGER.
Announcer: THE LONE RANGER!
Goldsmith: ANOTHER PIECE OF CLASSICAL MUSIC BECAME THE DEFINING THEME OF THE BEST IN BRITISH DRAMA ON AMERICAN TELEVISION-- MASTERPIECE THEATRE.
CLASSICAL MUSIC ISN'T ALWAYS REALLY OLD.
HERE'S A GREAT PIECE FROM THE ROARING '20s.
THE OPENING CLARINET LICK WAS A LAST-MINUTE IDEA BETWEEN GEORGE GERSHWIN AND THE CLARINETIST DURING REHEARSAL.
LOOK CLOSELY FOR A CAMEO APPEARANCE BY THE COMPOSER HIMSELF.
PRETTY EXHILARATING, HUH?
WELL, NEXT WE'LL RIDE OUT TO THE WILD WEST, VENTURE INTO OUTER SPACE, AND WE'LL EVEN BRING YOU A BEVY OF BEAUTIES.
WE'LL ALSO HEAR THE FOUR MOST FAMOUS NOTES IN ALL OF CLASSICAL MUSIC.
BUT FIRST, THERE'S A WAY YOU CAN CONTINUE TO ENJOY THIS MUSIC AND MANY, MANY MORE OF THE GREAT MASTERWORKS WHEN YOU SUPPORT THIS STATION.
OUR CLASSICAL JOURNEY CONTINUES.
WELCOME BACK TO MY MUSIC.
[BEETHOVEN'S SYMPHONY NO.
5 PLAYS] WHAT'S THAT?
THE SOUND OF FATE?
IS IT FATE KNOCKING ON THE DOOR?
YOU DECIDE.
NOTHING CAN GO STRAIGHT TO YOUR EMOTIONS BETTER THAN MUSIC.
HOW ABOUT HAVING A PARTY FOR YOUR FRIENDS ON A HOT SUMMER NIGHT ON A RIVER WITH MUSIC.
ALL YOU NEED IS A BIG BOAT, A BUNCH OF MUSICIANS, AND A NEW PIECE BY YOUR FAVORITE COMPOSER.
WHEN YOU'RE THE KING OF ENGLAND IN 1717, YOU CAN DO THIS KIND OF THING.
KING GEORGE I WAS SO PLEASED WITH HANDEL'S WATER MUSIC HE MADE THE ORCHESTRA PLAY IT OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
SOME KINGS JUST KNOW HOW TO THROW A PARTY.
CLASSICAL MUSIC HAS BEEN "BORROWED" BY POP MUSIC.
TAKE MY HAND, I'M A STRANGER IN PARADISE DID YOU KNOW THAT SONG IS BASED ON BORADIN'S POLOVTSIAN DANCES?
AND TCHAIKOVSKY'S SLEEPING BEAUTY WALTZ BECAME ONCE UPON A DREAM IN DISNEY'S ANIMATED SLEEPING BEAUTY.
BUT, YOU KNOW, CLASSICAL WRITERS HAVE ALSO BEEN KNOWN TO "BORROW," LIKE THE OLD MOUNTAIN FIDDLE TUNE IN AARON COPLAND'S HOEDOWN.
BACK IN 1896, RICHARD STRAUSS WASN'T THINKING ABOUT SPACE TRAVEL.
HE WAS THINKING ABOUT THE PHILOSOPHER FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE.
DIRECTOR STANLEY KUBRICK CHANGED EVERYTHING WHEN HE USED STRAUSS TO OPEN THE MOVIE 2001, AND IT BECAME THE THEME FOR AMERICA'S SPACE ODYSSEY.
FROM PHILOSOPHY TO SPACE, ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA.
Neil Armstrong: OK, I'M GOING TO STEP OFF THE LEM NOW.
THAT'S ONE SMALL STEP FOR MAN... ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND.
FOR ME, IT'S REALLY ABOUT THE SOUNDS.
THE SOUNDS ARE AMAZING WHEN YOU THINK WHAT THEY COME OUT OF, WHAT THE INSTRUMENTS ARE MADE OF AND HOW THEY'RE MADE.
HOW DOES ALL THAT SOUND HAPPEN?
IT'S...IT'S A MIRACLE, BUT IT'S BEAUTIFUL, SO I LIKE TO IMMERSE MYSELF IN THAT.
WHEN A NEW DANCE CRAZE BEGAN IN THE 16th CENTURY, IT WAS CALLED SCANDALOUS, GODLESS.
YOU SEE, IT WAS THE VERY FIRST TIME THAT THE DANCERS HELD EACH OTHER SO CLOSELY THAT THEIR FACES TOUCHED.
NOW, ABOUT 100 YEARS LATER, THE VIENNESE WALTZ WAS FASHIONABLE, AND JOHANN STRAUSS JR. WROTE OVER 400 OF THEM.
NO WONDER HE'S KNOWN AS THE WALTZ KING.
MY DADDY RAISED ME TO PLAY JAZZ MUSIC, BUT ALL THE TIME MY MOM WAS PLAYING CLASSICAL MUSIC, AND IT WAS KIND OF A BATTLE BETWEEN THE TWO, AND I THINK THAT RAVEL WON.
THIS PIECE BY MAURICE RAVEL WON A GOLD MEDAL FOR TORVILL AND DEAN AT THE 1984 WINTER OLYMPICS.
FOR MANY PEOPLE IT'S ABOUT BO DEREK, WHO IN THE MOVIE 10 ASKS... DID YOU EVER DO IT TO RAVEL'S BOLERO?
NO.
PEOPLE ALWAYS ASK HOW CAN YOU BECOME UNIQUE?
WELL, THE EASIEST WAY IS TO EXPOSE YOURSELF TO UNIQUE STUFF.
Goldsmith: THE UNFORGETTABLE HELICOPTER SCENE FROM APOCALYPSE NOW... ELMER FUDD SINGING "KILL THE WABBIT!"
AND A WAGNER OPERA.
BE IT WABBITS OR WAR OR MYTHOLOGY, RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES CAN TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY.
I DOUBT WAGNER HAD ANY IDEA HIS MUSIC WOULD BECOME THE SOUNDTRACK FOR VIETNAM OR A FAMOUS CARTOON OR THAT HIS MUSIC WOULD STILL BE PLAYED MORE THAN 150 YEARS LATER.
BUT GREAT MUSIC LIVES ON.
THERE'S MORE GREAT MUSIC TO COME.
OK, WHAT DO NAPOLEON, A RUSSIAN COMPOSER, AND ARTHUR FIEDLER HAVE IN COMMON?
WELL, WE'LL FIND OUT IN JUST A BIT, BUT FIRST WE'LL TAKE A BREATH SO YOU CAN SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR THIS PROGRAM AND YOUR PUBLIC TELEVISION STATION.
THE MASTER OF THE KING'S MUSIC, ENGLAND'S SIR EDWARD ELGAR, WROTE A MILITARY MARCH THAT BECAME THE ANTHEM FOR GRADUATION DAY.
OFFENBACH'S CAN CAN WAS WRITTEN ABOUT THE PARTY HABITS OF GREEK GODS.
IT'S BECOME THE THEME FOR A HIGH-KICKING CHORUS LINE-- THAT BEVY OF BEAUTIES I MENTIONED EARLIER-- AND A FAMOUS SHOP-RITE COMMERCIAL.
TAKE THOSE THREE-CHORD TRICKS AND THOSE ELECTRIC GUITAR, BASS, AND DRUMS, REPLACE THEM WITH A 90-PIECE ORCHESTRA, AND YOU WILL FIND THAT YOUR SENSIBILITIES ACHIEVE NEW MATURITY AND TEXTURE, AND YOUR LIFE WILL BE ENRICHED.
MANY OF THE GREAT COMPOSERS WE'VE MET TONIGHT HAD TO WORK DAY JOBS.
NIKOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV WAS A NAVY OFFICER.
CHARLES IVES SOLD INSURANCE.
MODEST MUSSORGSKY WAS A CIVIL SERVANT.
ANTONIO VIVALDI WAS AN ORDAINED PRIEST, BUT TODAY HE IS BEST KNOWN FOR MUSICALLY DESCRIBING THE FOUR SEASONS.
AND WE DON'T MEAN THOSE "JOISEY" GUYS.
THE BEGINNING OF SPRING, YOU JUST, YOU FEEL LIKE YOU COULD SEE THE BIRDS CHIRPING AND THE FLOWERS BLOOMING AND IT'S JUST...
IT'S PERFECT MUSIC.
SOMETIMES IT'S DIFFICULT TO KNOW WHAT INSPIRED A COMPOSER.
MOONLIGHT ON A LAKE, A POEM, A LOVER, A FOLK TALE.
RUSSIAN COMPOSER MODEST MUSSORGSKY WAS INSPIRED BY THE PAINTINGS OF A FRIEND WHO HAD PASSED AWAY THAT BECAME MOVEMENTS FOR MUSSORGSKY'S PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION.
ONE OF THOSE PAINTINGS SHOWED AN ANCIENT GATE TO A RUSSIAN CITY THAT HAD FALLEN INTO RUIN.
IN THE 1970s, A NEW GREAT GATE OF KIEV WAS CONSTRUCTED OVER THE RUINS OF THE ORIGINAL.
THIS ARIA BY GIUSEPPE VERDI PROVED TO BE SO CATCHY THAT PRIOR TO THE OPERA'S PREMIERE IN 1851, REHEARSALS OF LA DONNA E MOBILE FROM RIGOLETTO WERE HELD UNDER TIGHT SECRECY.
IN FACT, VERDI FORBID THE CAST AND ORCHESTRA FROM SINGING, WHISTLING, OR EVEN THINKING OF THE MELODY OUTSIDE OF THE THEATRE.
SOON AFTER THE FIRST PUBLIC PERFORMANCE, LA DONNA E MOBILE WAS ECHOING THROUGH THE CANALS FROM EVERY GONDOLIER IN VENICE.
La donna mobile Qual piuma al vento muta d'accento e di pensiero Sempre un amabile leggiadro viso in pianto o in riso menzognero La donna mobil' Qual piuma al vento muta d'accento e di pensier'!
e di pensier'!
e di pensier'!
E sempre misero chi a lei s'affida chi le confida mal cauto il core!
Pur mai non sentesi felice appieno chi su quel seno non liba amore!
La donna mobil' Qual piuma al vento muta d'accento e di pensier'!
e di pensier'!
e di pensier'!
EVERY PIECE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO SURPRISE YOU AND SWEEP YOU AWAY.
YOU JUST HAVE TO BE READY FOR IT.
WHILE BEETHOVEN'S TAKE ON FATE UPLIFTS US, CARL ORFF TAKES A MORE DEPRESSING VIEW.
HE PUT A LATIN POEM TO MUSIC WHICH HAD LINES LIKE, "FATE, YOU ARE AGAINST ME."
NOT THE MOST PLEASANT OF THOUGHTS.
AND WHILE IT IS CERTAINLY FOREBODING, THERE IS SOMETHING INSPIRING, EVEN EMPOWERING, IN O FORTUNA.
O FORTUNA VELUT LUNA STATU VARIABILIS SORS IMMANIS ET INANIS ROTA TU VOLUBILIS STATUS MALUS VANA SALUS SEMPER DISSOLUBILIS OBUMBRATA ET VELATA MICHI QUOQUE NITERIS NUNC PER LUDUM DORSUM NUDUM FERO TUI SCELERIS SORS SALUTIS ET VIRTUTIS MICHI NUNC CONTRARIA EST AFFECTUS ET DEFECTUS SEMPER IN ANGARIA HAC IN HORA SINE MORA CORDE PULSUM TANGITE QUOD PER SORTEM STERNIT FORTEM MECUM OMNES PLANGITE!
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT DRAMA AND RHYTHM, THERE IS NOBODY LIKE BEETHOVEN.
Goldsmith: IN HIS FIFTH SYMPHONY, BEETHOVEN WROTE ABOUT FATE.
IN THE NINTH AND FINAL SYMPHONY, THE SUBJECT WAS JOY.
ODE TO JOY IS THE OFFICIAL ANTHEM OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, AND IT'S PLAYED THROUGHOUT JAPAN ON NEW YEAR'S DAY.
FOR MUCH OF HUMANITY, BEETHOVEN'S NINTH IS THE "GOOD CHINA," SOMETHING YOU TAKE OUT FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS.
FOR INSTANCE, IN 1989, LEONARD BERNSTEIN GATHERED MUSICIANS FROM AROUND THE WORLD TO PERFORM BEETHOVEN'S MASTERPIECE TO CELEBRATE THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL.
FREUDE, SCHOENER GOETTERFUNKEN TOCHTER AUS ELYSIUM WIR BETRETEN FEUERTRUNKEN HIMMLISCHE, DEIN HEILIGTUM!
DEINE ZAUBER BINDEN WIEDER WAS DIE MODE STRENG GETEILT ALLE MENSCHEN WERDEN BRUEDER WO DEIN SANFTER FLUEGEL WEILT DEINE ZAUBER BINDEN WIEDER WAS DIE MODE STRENG GETEILT ALLE MENSCHEN WERDEN BRUEDER WO DEIN SANFTER FLUEGEL WEILT WE DO LIVE IN A CHAOTIC WORLD WITH LOTS OF NOISES AND, AND, AND... WHAT FEELS LIKE CHAOS.
AND WHAT MUSIC DOES WHEN YOU SIT IN FRONT OF THIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, IT'S JUST HARMONY AND BEAUTY, WHICH IS SUCH A PLEASURE TO BE AROUND.
Goldsmith: IN 1776, JOHN ADAMS WROTE THAT INDEPENDENCE DAY SHOULD BE CELEBRATED WITH GUNS, BELLS, AND BONFIRES.
THE MUSIC WE OFTEN PLAY ON THE FOURTH OF JULY WAS ACTUALLY WRITTEN BY RUSSIAN COMPOSER TCHAIKOVSKY ABOUT RUSSIA'S DEFEAT OF NAPOLEON IN 1812, BUT IT HAS BECOME AN AMERICAN ANTHEM FOR FIREWORKS ON THE FOURTH OF JULY.
CLASSICAL MUSIC IS MANY THINGS TO MANY PEOPLE.
WHAT IS IT TO YOU?
TONIGHT I THINK WE'VE DISCOVERED THAT IT'S EXCITING, INSPIRATIONAL, AND A REMINDER OF WHAT IS BEST ABOUT THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE.
WHETHER WE'VE INTRODUCED YOU TO NEW MUSIC OR REMINDED YOU OF MUSIC YOU LOVE, THANK YOU FOR SPENDING YOUR TIME WITH MY MUSIC.
I'M MARTIN GOLDSMITH.
GOOD NIGHT.
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