Random thoughts on this unwieldy thing we inadequately call "Classical Music":
I have been listening to Joshua Weilerstein's Sticky Notes podcast. He repeatedly reminds us that "Classical Music is NOT supposed to be relaxing". So very true. This music has the power to transform us, to move us, to anger us, to frighten us, to fill us with joy- and all those things simultaneously, within one piece. I have been watching Simon Rattle's Sibelius cycle with Berlin, and in the middle of the 7th symphony (which really only makes sense as an interrupted coda to the 6th, the way Rattle does it), the camera showed a woman, sitting in those seats behind the orchestra, discreetly but openly weeping. Yes, this is what "Classical Music" can do if we listen carefully in a deep engaged way.