Yesterday evening I was a guest of the BBC at the Proms.
The first bit of music was not my cup of tea but was mercifully short. The second was a Chopin piano concerto played by Lang Lang (so good they named him twice?). One of the effects of watching music, particularly with a soloist, is that I tend to start concentrating on the player rather than the music. Lang Lang’s shiny shoes flashed in the lights, he had some distracting mannerisms but the striking thing was that his hands appeared to drift across the keyboard whilst the notes tumbled and cascaded in abundance and profusion. It was amazing to watch – rather like watching Usain Bolt apparently strolling effortlessly to a new world record. I wish there were something that difficult that I could do that well.
All very well, you may be thinking (or not!), but what does this have to do with nature? In the programme notes Lang Lang is quoted as saying that when he plays Chopin, he sees beautiful images and feels close to nature – there you go!
The last piece was Strauss’s Alpine Symphony, which describes a day’s walking in the Alps including flower-rich meadows and birdsong. This is music to bathe in – the 100+ piece orchestra sends out waves of melody. Strauss was quite clear where he stood when he talked of ‘the worship of nature, eternal and magnificent.’
Nature is inspiring - it inspires great scientists and great artists - and the rest of us too!
Thanks for that, Mark- especially liked the quote about 'nature eternal & magnificent', what a great description of nature. I think a lot of us imagine scenes from nature when listening to music (of all kinds).