Ask a Ledgie a Question

[David]

Originally Posted by sasja

David has Ludwig always been your main man?

When I was still a teenager, I preferred the French impressionists Debussy & Ravel (little did I know then that Ravel was equally a neoclassicist). It wasn't until I reached adulthood before I understood & loved Viennese classicism. As I learned more & more about structure, development of motive, harmonic evolution, & characteristics of form (rondo, variation, etc.), I realized that virtually no music written since Haydn, Mozart & Beethoven lived up to those elements of craft. Plus, to kids taking music lessons from little old ladies whose homes smell like pot roast, the Beethoven myth & the heroic ideal is a powerful pull. A certain type of personality continues to idolize Beethoven into adulthood & beyond. Mozart lovers sometimes say they "grew" out of B. into M., which exemplifies their own personalities & inclinations.