To relax during the day

Lately I have been starting my listening day with an opera of Mozart's followed by a piano recital of Mozart's piano sonatas.
It takes eight hours to listen to all this, and by then my mind is completely composed and relaxed. I find that if I choose a non-Mozart opera to begin with, and is neither "The Marriage of Figaro" or "Cosi fan Tutte" my mind becomes on edge and I am discontented.
It is allright to play an opera by Verdi, Puccini or Donizetti after tha t initial eight hours but not before. I find that the visualisations on the computer screen also relax me.
The music plays all day and can go from at least ten hours to fifteen maybe more depending on how early I get up.

Exercises

Lately I have been exercising with resistance tubing while I listen to my music. I try to exercise three times a day. Once at 6.00a.m. at 12.00p.m. and at 5.30p.m. I find that this adds purpose to my day and trims up my figure.
I consume a lot of coffee in between exercises but the day goes a lot faster. I do sixty different stretches with the tubing, folding it in two as I go to work.
Looking at the ipod dock clock on my left I see that it is now just on time for my 5.30p.m. workout. Now for some fun!

Operas by Verdi and Donizetti

I have recently been experimenting with a few other well known operas, apart from the three great ones of Mozart mentioned above, namely "The Marriage of Figaro", " Don Giovanni", and "Cosi fan Tutte". I had turned to Verdi's "Rigoletto" and "Aida" and Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor". After listening to each of them a few times, I discovered that the Verdi operas were very disquieting and were of a tragic hue. The other opera of Donizetti, although also a tragic tale, had quite a pleasant and harmonic sound. The recording I had of it included Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti.
In the Verdi operas the tragedy was communicated transparently in the music; less so with the Donizetti. The Donizetti Opera ran for a little over two hours, but it was hard to detect during that time a musical arrangement that tore at ones senses as it does in the closing stages of both "Aida" and "Rigoletto". I left the Donizetti feeling elated and inspired by the music whereas I departed the other two considerably shaken by the music I had heard. The arias in the Donizetti are uplifting and inspiring where I found the Verdi complicated and secretive. Verdi had provided me with a tragic format for his operas, Donizetti had not. I now notice a slight feeling of apprehension and depression when listening to the Verdi, but I feel elated when listening to the Donizetti.
I should add that I have never seen any of these three operas performed on stage or watched DVD versions of them. All my observations of them are based on repeated listenings coupled with synopses of their plots. While I was listening to these operas, I could depend on excerpts of the stirring Bruckner symphony cycle to raise my spirits, but more of the excellent Bruckner another time.

The Well Tempered Clavier

I recently obtained a 4CD set of "The Well Tempered Clavier" by J.S.Bach. It is performed by Glenn Gould and I have been totally immersed in those 48 Preludes and Fugues for the past few days. I admire the harmony and powerful themes of this music. It communicates something very complex yet very definite to the listener. Perhaps the inticate patterns of an oriental rug or tiles arranged in intricate patterns come to mind here. The overall effect is one of harmony and mystery, some themes becoming emphasized in the listener's mind.
It is difficult to listen to discs 1-4 in sequence, so I interpolated discs 1 and 2 of Brahms Klaviersonaten which had the agreeable effect of leaving one impressed by the power and virtuosity of both Brahms and Bach, yet reducing the sweet treacle effect of the Bach. The Brahms had a harmonious and definite sound to it, but was more flowery, romantic and indeterminate. Where patterns seem to rise up before one when listening to the Bach it seemed to me that there were strongly defined but rosier themes in the Brahms.
All of the composers I have discussed in these posts seem to me to have a clear definite touch to them. In some parts of the Bruckner symphony cycle I seem to detect a reaching out to the world. The music inspires in me a sense of the powerful forces that created nature itself. The Mozart is a flowing of musical etiquette. The Bruckner Symphonies reminded me most of the times I spent in Far North Queensland, where I was reaching out to the world all around me in a two man tent pitched on solid eath.

Listening to the Piano Sonatas

If there is one area of Mozart's output I find particularly fascinating it is that of his piano sonatas. With the exception of Sonatas 1-5 I find all of the piano sonatas compelling listening. These latter works form constantly refreshing and poignantly beautiful sound as they are played, their internal dramas form and reform in my mind. I think Mozart's mastery of the keyboard is one of the finest and I have no doubt he was of the virtuoso class as I hear them yet again. Where Bach's tremendous outpourings for the keyboard tend to ramble interminably, Mozart's compositions rivet the listener to every note and one pricks up one's ears in anticipation of his emphatic rhythms and charming melodies.
Sonatas 1-5 are also interesting works but tend to throw the listener into a more contemplative, reflective mood. If the mind is attempting to spring into action Sonatas 6-8 with their emphasis on the virtuoso keyboard come to the listening fore. Sonatas 9-12 are a core of beautiful but bright listening, the slower movements making for deeply poignant moods. Sonatas 13-14 including the Fantasia in C Minor are brilliantly dramatic works containing many deeply moving slow passages. Sonatas 15-17 including the Sonata in F Major once again show off Mozart's sense of subtle, moving charm.
In contrast, I found many of the Piano Variations much duller on the ear, but when Mozart commands attention, even at times in these, he does so completely. The Sonatas form a plateau of intense listening pleasure and they move the mind towards rationality, each note following the next with a mathematical precision. The Bach experience in "The Well Tempered Clavier" is quite a different one, with polyphonic effects being entirely absent from the Mozart works. You feel that Mozart's Sonatas were intended to directly engage a small but attentive audience, whereas the endless Fugues of Bach are for rambling around the keyboard mainly to amuse Bach himself. Mozart's themes have a definite beginning, a middle section and an end whereas after listening to many of Bach's Fugues the listener just remains hopelessly confused. I can see Mozart performing his sonatas in a drawing room setting-you tend to envisage Bach banging away merrily to himself in an attic somewhere, not absolutely certain where the music is going.
Some stretches along Bach's Immense keyboard highway can startle you with their intensity, even virtuosity, but I never return time and time again to listen there as I do with Mozart.

Making a Listening Commitment to Mozart.

Lately, I have been focussing on Mozart's Piano Sonatas and Variations. I have discovered that these piano works of Mozart tend to focus my thoughts far more than his piano Concertos, which, though very inspiring, tend to become too familiar. The sonatas tend to pick up my thoughts and concentrate them particularly well. It is difficult for me to listen to the entire piano sonatas in one listening session although I have achieved that once or twice.
I tend to listen to about four of those Daniel Barenboim CD's before turning to the softer tones of the singing and orchestra of the Operas. I turn most often to "Cosi fan Tutti" or "The Marriage of Figaro".These Operas are also useful for tuning up my thinking though without the harsh sound of the solo piano virtuoso increasingly getting on my nerves. The Operas,conducted by Barenboim, tend to quieten down the listening experience.
I also tend to listen to the ethereal beauty of the Variations contained in the Minuet in D, K355, The Fantasia in D Minor, K397, The Rondo in D, K485, The Adagio in B Minor, K540, and completed by the Eine Kleine Gigue in G, K574. These I have played by the Japanese Pianist Mitsuko Uchida.These variations also pick up and concentrate my thoughts.
I tend to think of Mozart's earliest Piano Sonatas, 1-5, K279, 280, 281, 282, and 283 as being of a slightly cooler flavour than his later ones which awe me with their intensity. Sonatas 1-5 tend to ramble considerably, far more the rest which I think have far more diversity and delineation.
The "Marriage of Figaro" cheers me up enormously, while the darker themes of "Don Giovanni" tend to tear at me. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau makes a compelling Count in "The Marriage of Figaro" but there is much gay and poignant beauty throughout these three Operas.

"The Marriage of Figaro" to the rescue.

I had little to do today but turn on my computer and listen to some of the music stored there. I had taken my mother on an outing from the private hospital she was recovering in yesterday. She had fallen down some stairs at her home and fractured some bones in her pelvis. Walking was still fairly painful for her and the nurse said that she had better use her wheelie-walker while she was out and not attempt to climb any stairs. At about 9.45am we got into a taxi and headed along Oxley road in search of a restaurant. She said she would like to go to the Coffee Club in Toowong. I knew this was likely to cost a bit of money as the distance from the private hospital at Oxley to Toowong was considerable.

But we arrived at last and she agreed to pay the driver with her credit card. (The fare was about $30.00). The Coffee Club was definitely open and in full swing-it was Easter Saturday-I could barely hear myself talk above the din of the talk of other diners and the television there. We ordered omelettes with spinach and mushrooms as well as some orange juice and a milkshake. At last the drinks and food arrived and we had our repast. This time the bill was around $40.00. I agreed to pay half.

Next, we went to Toowong Village-a shopping mall nearby. It was even noisier and more crowded there. My mother had trouble keeping pace with me as I attempted to make my way through the crowds. After fighting our way through to the toilets we returned to some chairs in an out of the way corner on the ground floor. She asked me to go off and buy some mandarins and apples. I did this and paid the balance of the bill with my own money, some $2 or so. She said she would like something to drink, so I bought her a 600ml carton of milk with straw. We sat for a while and talked. At length she said she would like to return to the hospital as she had some pain in her lower back.

So off we went with me leading the way through the dense crowds and in search of a taxi to take us back. She waited on the side of the kerb nearest the mall while I jumped into a cab on a nearby rank and told the driver to do a U-turn and pick mother up. This accomplished we set out for Canossa Private Hospital and on arrival there she once again paid with her credit card. The whole affair had cost us that much and as we regained her room on the fourth floor of the hospital the nurses were preparing her for a dose of the painkillers she was on. I stayed on for a few minutes and finally decided to leave. It was the first time I had ever been to that hospital and didn't know the area at all so I asked her if I could borrow some money for a taxi to Oxley train station. She handed me a $20 note and off I went, first catching a train into Central Station and then a bus out to New Farm.

On my return to my room in New Farm, I found three messages on my phone, all from my mother. The first two anticipated my arrival at the hospital that morning hoping that I would come quickly and get there soon. The third was a rebuke for the cost of the outing and my poor dress which she thought made me look like a "street urchin". She sounded very angry and upset. Oh, well, there's no point in arguing with any of that. Back to Mozart Sonatas and Beethoven Piano Concertos 3&4 and the Mozart Requiem K626. I think I also tossed in two of the three CD's of "The Marriage of Figaro". I needed something to get me going the next day.