Consoled with music…
I read somewhere that Ludwig van Beethoven liked to use the key of A-flat major as his key signature for music that is intended to communicate consolation. Perhaps it was Michael Tilson Thomas, in one of his talks, who mentioned that.
Every person faces challenges of many kinds. And every so often we need musical consolation to help us to overcome the challenge, and to keep going. I’ll have to do some research into different composers’ use of A-flat, but these days my favorite is Beethoven’s Piano sonata #31 in A-flat.
I’ve been listening to the opening 16 bars of the first movement, and it’s possible that my DVD of that music, as performed by pianist Daniel Barenboim, is getting worn out from the frequency of playing it. 🙂
Glenn Gould’s interpretation of the Beethoven first movement takes 08:44 minutes. Check it out for yourself, and tell me via a comment below which interpretation you like best.
Here is Daniel Barenboim, performing this masterpiece:
And here is the recording by Glenn Gould:
