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Cautious Chameleon
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26 Aug 2018, 8:07 pm

I love Chopin's music. After many months of listening, my favourite piece is still 'Lullaby'. It takes me somewhere beautiful.
When I was depressed, I used to hear it in my head, more slowly than usual. It got me through a difficult time.
His piano concerto no. 2 is very uplifting.
I haven't found another composer whose music touches me so deeply.



Esmerelda Weatherwax
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26 Aug 2018, 8:12 pm

When I was young, I had a radio in my room, and there was a magazine called "Forecast FM" which gave playlists for the local radio stations. I'd close my door, open my window, turn off all the lights, and listen to Chopin nocturnes late at night.

Thank you for reminding me of this. It was a beautiful part of my young life.


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AspieUtah
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26 Aug 2018, 8:16 pm

Chopin is amazing!


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Esmerelda Weatherwax
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26 Aug 2018, 8:28 pm


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"I believe you find life such a problem because you think there are the good people and the bad people," said the man. "You're wrong, of course. There are, always and only, the bad people, but some of them are on opposite sides."
-- Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!


AspieUtah
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26 Aug 2018, 8:31 pm

Esmerelda Weatherwax wrote:

Rubinstein is the go-to performer of all things Chopin! :D


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Diagnosed in 2015 with ASD Level 1 by the University of Utah Health Care Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinic using the ADOS-2 Module 4 assessment instrument [11/30] -- Screened in 2014 with ASD by using the University of Cambridge Autism Research Centre AQ (Adult) [43/50]; EQ-60 for adults [11/80]; FQ [43/135]; SQ (Adult) [130/150] self-reported screening inventories -- Assessed since 1978 with an estimated IQ [≈145] by several clinicians -- Contact on WrongPlanet.net by private message (PM)


Esmerelda Weatherwax
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26 Aug 2018, 8:39 pm

If I'm not mistaken, this is the actual recording that I listened to, all those years ago (early 1970s, and he recorded this long before then).


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"I believe you find life such a problem because you think there are the good people and the bad people," said the man. "You're wrong, of course. There are, always and only, the bad people, but some of them are on opposite sides."
-- Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!


Cautious Chameleon
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28 Aug 2018, 2:01 pm

Esmeralda, how lovely to get my first reply since joining Wrong Planet a few days ago. It made me smile.
I could imagine Chopin's gentle tones wafting through the night sky from your window !
Thank you so much for sending the Arthur Bernstein's Chopin attachment. I hadn't listened to these recordings before. Really beautiful. I usually listen to Idil Biret's interpretations, though they are not exclusively nocturnes. I think Bernstein's versions are very deep and rich in tone.
It's strange to think that in those days, pianists created music that was specifically for night time listening. Imagine a life with no street lights, radio, TV and no technology, how peaceful it would be. Time to really feel the music, reflect, imagine and get in touch with your own emotions (unless of course you had to get up at 5am to work a 15 hour day in a mill...)



Cautious Chameleon
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28 Aug 2018, 2:09 pm

Hello AspieUtah
So pleased to get a response from two people who also love Chopin !
He had a tough time, in terms of his health, as many people did in those times. And to die so young...but what a legacy.
I'd love to go to Warsaw to see the spot in the wall where Chopin's heart lies, preserved in French brandy. Do you have a favourite piece ?



Kiprobalhato
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28 Aug 2018, 2:26 pm

chopin is an absolute gENIUS


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AspieUtah
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28 Aug 2018, 2:48 pm

Cautious Chameleon wrote:
Hello AspieUtah
So pleased to get a response from two people who also love Chopin !
He had a tough time, in terms of his health, as many people did in those times. And to die so young...but what a legacy.
I'd love to go to Warsaw to see the spot in the wall where Chopin's heart lies, preserved in French brandy. Do you have a favourite piece ?

Thank you, CC!

I don't have a favorite piece, but as with much of Bach, I enjoy Chopin's linear melodies most. They show up often in the nocturnes. Single note after single note is amazing, and my autistic mind loves the keys, succession and rapidity.


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Diagnosed in 2015 with ASD Level 1 by the University of Utah Health Care Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinic using the ADOS-2 Module 4 assessment instrument [11/30] -- Screened in 2014 with ASD by using the University of Cambridge Autism Research Centre AQ (Adult) [43/50]; EQ-60 for adults [11/80]; FQ [43/135]; SQ (Adult) [130/150] self-reported screening inventories -- Assessed since 1978 with an estimated IQ [≈145] by several clinicians -- Contact on WrongPlanet.net by private message (PM)


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28 Aug 2018, 2:55 pm

Playing the nocturnes was my therapy as a child. They spoke to my deepest feelings, and the first time I heard one - in E Flat - I knew that there had been at least one human being on the same wave length somehow. Along with cats, Chopin got me through a very difficult childhood.



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29 Aug 2018, 9:29 pm

The barcarolle is my favorite. I listen to it constantly and as sort of a ritual when I am shaving. When my son was very little he used to beg me to play "the raindrop" (prelude no. 15 in D-flat major), so that is also very special to me.



Esmerelda Weatherwax
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30 Aug 2018, 9:03 pm

Cautious Chameleon wrote:
Esmeralda, how lovely to get my first reply since joining Wrong Planet a few days ago. It made me smile.
I could imagine Chopin's gentle tones wafting through the night sky from your window !
Thank you so much for sending the Arthur Bernstein's Chopin attachment. I hadn't listened to these recordings before. Really beautiful. I usually listen to Idil Biret's interpretations, though they are not exclusively nocturnes. I think Bernstein's versions are very deep and rich in tone.
It's strange to think that in those days, pianists created music that was specifically for night time listening. Imagine a life with no street lights, radio, TV and no technology, how peaceful it would be. Time to really feel the music, reflect, imagine and get in touch with your own emotions (unless of course you had to get up at 5am to work a 15 hour day in a mill...)


Hi! I'm sorry... I didn't check this thread for a bit. Glad you've met some kindred spirits here :-)

There are two other composers who can bring me to a dead stop - out of sheer delight - but they're as different from Chopin as humanly possible.

You actually reminded me of one of them when you spoke about music designed to be listened to at night. I feel that way about Charles Ives, too. "Central Park In the Dark" is literally music designed to be heard at night, because it's a walk through Central Park (back when that was safe to do) in the evening, and it's... indescribable. Then there's "The Unanswered Question" which... well, you've heard of the Voice of God? I swear, Ives had the Ears of God...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34AqNvhBfVQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXD4tIp59L0

The other composer is Lou Harrison. God again. He just passed away in 2003, and his music is so beautiful that I feel as though I will crack apart, or explode into flames, when I'm listening to it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmTZPPNok0Y

I've deliberately not embedded these as YouTube files, just as links, because I don't want to hijack your thread, only to share music that you might find compelling. - and it's OK if you don't; these guys are not everyone's cup of tea. But they do seem to write for humans who find ourselves sitting alone in the dark, with the whole universe deep and luminous above us; and that is where the connection to Chopin is. For me, at least.

:-)


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"I believe you find life such a problem because you think there are the good people and the bad people," said the man. "You're wrong, of course. There are, always and only, the bad people, but some of them are on opposite sides."
-- Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!


Cautious Chameleon
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05 Sep 2018, 2:15 pm

Hello everyone
Sorry haven't been on Wrong Planet for over a week.
I started back at work on Monday...a primary school. Finding the transition, and the run up to it difficult, been very agitated.
It's getting a bit easier now I've got some structure and predictability. I just act really, which I'm sadly very good at.
Back to Chopin. Maybe there's something about Chopin's music that appeals to autistic souls ?
How lovely you introduced your young son to Chopin. It will leave a lasting impression on his little brain.
I will certainly listen to the musicians you mentioned, EW. I'll pencil it for the weekend.

I'm taking my daughter to see the 2nd round of Leeds International Piano competition tomorrow night. An 18th birthday present. Never been to anything like it before.Excited and nervous, the stalls will be cramped.
Speak to you all soon...
CC



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10 Sep 2018, 1:21 pm

Yes! Les Sylphides especially. Chopin is stimulating, not at all relaxing to me. His music is simple yet spins my mind into other worlds somehow.



Mythos
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10 Sep 2018, 2:01 pm

I generally like listening to classical music. It's not my main favourite genre, but I definitely enjoy it.

My favourite is probably Moonlight Sonata.