Part 1

Hello everyone. It’s Ben again. Those of you who follow my blog probably remember I’m a former rock musician, but few people know (not even my grandson Mark) that I studied classical music at university.

Today I’m going to tell you why classical music is so important and how to start to admire and understand it.

Well, there have been a lot of studies that prove the benefits of listening to classical music, so listen carefully:

Benefit number 1 – classical music makes your memory better.

Benefit number 2 – classical melodies improve your creativity, help you come up with new and fresh ideas.

Benefit number 3 – listening to Mozart or Beethoven puts you in a good mood and helps fight depression.

So if you feel a bit down and have a lot of homework to do, there’s nothing better than choosing a good classical concert to listen to. In the second part of the podcast I’m going to tell you about the best classical music concert to begin with.

Part 2

Speaking of concerts and operas. You may think they are long, extremely boring and make people fall asleep. Well, that’s not true at all, but you have to experience the music live rather than listen to a recording.

I strongly recommend starting your adventure with classical music with the famous masterpiece cantata by Carl Orf “Carmina Burana”. Never heard of it? I wouldn’t be so sure! Have you ever watched a thrilling fireworks display or a laser light show late at night? It was probably accompanied by a recording of the famous choir. 

Now, close your eyes and imagine yourself in a beautiful concert hall listening to a choir dressed in black. The conductor stands in front of the orchestra and directs its performance passionately. All the violinists, drummers and trumpeters look extremely concentrated. The soloist finishes his part and the choir begins singing. There are dozens of people in the choir and their voices are so powerful you can feel the whole building shaking. After a moment you notice that neither the choir nor the orchestra have microphones! The enormous power and energy of the music comes only from the human voices and instruments… It feels like magic. You look around and see an old lady in the next row of seats crying. You feel the same. That is the unbelievable beauty of classical music. Go to a concert and you will understand!

Here is the most moving fragment of “Carmina Burana.”

Please let me know when you experienced your first classical music concert. Till next time!