Tag: #creative

Classical Music Stories

Classical Music Stories: Harry Potter

Aubrey Leaman

Harry_Potter_and_the_Sorcerer's_Stone

(Classical Music Stories is a series where music is listened to as though it were the soundtrack to your favorite books.)

During Harry’s first trip to Diagon Alley he finds the most amazing and magical things everywhere! This place is a far cry from where he spent his dreary, non-magical childhood.  Just like a kid in a candy store, he gawks at everything from spell books and cauldrons to owls!

 

 

 

 

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy Voldemort and Beyoncé Robots (Or a Dream I Had), Classical Music Stories: Peter Pan, and How to Actually Enjoy Classical Music (For Book Lovers).

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Music

How to Grocery Shop like a Superhero

Aubrey Leaman

batman-1367730_1920.jpg

Ugh.  It’s time to go grocery shopping.  But instead of being bored, listen to the first movement of Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 in D minor while you shop.  If you have time, listen to the other movements, too.

As you’re walking down the aisles, searching for the right brand of whole wheat bread or the firmest tomatoes, connect with your inner superhero backstory through Continue reading “How to Grocery Shop like a Superhero” →

Classical Music Stories

Classical Music Stories: A Study In Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes)

Aubrey Leaman

 

“Classical Music Stories” is a series where classical music is listened to as though it were a movie score to one of your favorite books.  

Alfred Schnittke’s Piano Quartet

Jefferson Hope comes back to the camp after hunting only to Continue reading “Classical Music Stories: A Study In Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes)” →

The Other Stuff

Quirky Ballet

Aubrey Leaman

Viktorina Kapitonova Викторина Капитонова (Ballett Zürich) and Alexander Jones (Stuttgarter Ballett), “Le Grand Pas De Deux” choreography by Christian Spuck, Alexandrinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 2016 Dance Open Ballet Festival (April 25) Source and more info at: Photographer Stas Levshin on Facebook Photographer Stas Levshin on Instagram Dance Open Ballet Festival Website Dance Open Ballet […]

via Viktorina Kapitonova and Alexander Jones — Ballet: The Best Photographs

Books, Classical Music Stories, Music

How To Actually Enjoy Classical Music (For Book Lovers): The Story I Imagined

Aubrey Leaman

octopus-1235006_1280In the first part of this post, I revealed a way to imagine your favorite literary characters and stories in classical music.  (Read about the idea here.)

As promised, here’s the story I imagined when I listened to the brief, one-minute long piece at the end of that post.  (I put it in this post, too.)

Based on The Picture of Dorian Gray

Continue reading “How To Actually Enjoy Classical Music (For Book Lovers): The Story I Imagined” →

Books, Music

How to Actually Enjoy Classical Music (For Book Lovers)

Aubrey Leaman

octopus-1235006_1280

Classical music can be pretty boring.  Why would you choose to listen to something that long and that abstract? Lots of people try to figure out how to “understand” the music, but understanding is definitely not always the same as enjoying.

Of all people, I was perfectly primed to love classical music. I grew up with a professional classical musician as a father, was taken to numerous concerts, took piano lessons constantly ever since I was seven years old, and participated in chorus and band in high school. I even became a classical music major in college and had extensive formal training. And while I didn’t hate it or anything, I certainly didn’t love it.  Like so many people, I just didn’t “get” it.

So forget understanding.

How can you actually ENJOY classical music?

Believe it or not, it is possible.  As a book lover, I found the secret…

Books take you on adventures that spice Continue reading “How to Actually Enjoy Classical Music (For Book Lovers)” →

The Other Stuff

Swan Lake

Aubrey Leaman

Roxane Stojanov and Florent Melac, “Swan Lake” “Le “Lac des Cygnes” (rehearsal) choreography by Marius Petipa, Le Ballet de l’Opéra National de Paris, Gala d’Etoiles, Casino Barrière Enghien-Les-Bains (May 2016) Source and more info at: Photographer Isabelle Aubert on Twitter Photographer Isabelle Aubert on Facebook Photographer Isabelle Aubert on Instagram

via Roxane Stojanov and Florent Melac — Ballet: The Best Photographs

Books, Music

Music In Wonderland: The White Rabbit’s Proof (Final Part 4)

Aubrey Leaman

[Alice asks the White Rabbit her final question about the relationship between stories and classical music.  If you missed Part 3, you can find it here.]

 

I just have one more question, Rabbit Dear.

What is it?

I understand that a tapestry can become a table, and a table a tapestry, but why should I bother with them when you are so much smarter than I and so know the tapestry’s benefits as a tablecloth much more than I? (It is true that the White Rabbit was never averse to a bit of flattery, but here I simply said what I thought.)

Why my dear, even if I am a bit better at the table-tablecloth conundrum (he did look a bit smug, though perhaps that was simply a result of using the word “conundrum”), seeing the tablecloth on top of the table is a valuable skill!

Why? 

Because tables are notoriously persnickety! One never knows where they’ve been and where they’re going.[1]

(I had always suspected this very thing of tables, and now here Continue reading “Music In Wonderland: The White Rabbit’s Proof (Final Part 4)” →

Books, Music

Music in Wonderland: The White Rabbit’s Proof (Part 3)

Aubrey Leaman

[Alice and the White Rabbit discuss the value of literary connections to classical music.  You can catch Part 2 here.]

I was a bit sleepy at this point from the tea, but as the Rabbit kept talking and as I liked to listen, I pinched my arm a few times and managed to stay awake.

Now my dear, do you think the Cow destroys the moon when he jumps over it in the music?[1]

I suppose he might…

But when you place a tablecloth on a table, like this one here, does there cease to be a table?

Why of course not!

 Does the table cease to be necessary?

I should say not! Without the table, the tablecloth would not be a tablecloth anymore, but just a cloth! (In reality, the tablecloth was just a cloth—rather a blanket that Continue reading “Music in Wonderland: The White Rabbit’s Proof (Part 3)” →