1. Love for Classical Music

I learned Chinese music when I was a child by playing the Erhu, a popular Chinese string instrument. Though I switched to the violin later on, my love for western classical music didn't start until I went to college. In China, it was a time when the so-called westernization was emerging, especially among young people. Anything that originated from the West was considered superior. I was learning English at college and naturally I had a strong desire to know more about the West. As I had bought a cassette player -- a rarity in those days -- for learning English, listening to music became something that I enjoyed in my leasure time. However, unlike many of my fellow students who loved pop music, I found western classical music catching my attention and I immediately fell in love with it. Its harmony, big orchestras, and the variety of instruments got me fascinated. That was the beginning of my classical music search and collection. The only Foreign Langauge Book Store in the city became my favorite place to visit on weekend because it was the only place where western classical music was available in cassette tape for purchase. As I listened more and more, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, and many others became familiar to me. Later on, when music began to be recored on CDs, I started collecting different genres of classical music on CD. Over the years, I have collected hundreds of CDs, often with different editions of the same symphony. Nowadays Youtube is a huge source of good music. But it is no substitute for CDs that I play on my high end audiophile system. It is truely a much more enjoyable experience.

2. Playing the violin as a hobby

Among all music genres, string instruments are my favorite. In my opinion, the many different techniques of drawing the bow across the strings on different timber bodies create a huge variety of different tones which are capable of expressing so many different moods and emotions.

And among all string instruments, I love the violin the best. This is not only because its sound is the closest to the human voice and it is so easy to carry around, but also because it is one of the first music instruments that I played. When I was a child, I started playing the Erhu, a Chinese instrument with two strings. After a while and before I really learned the necessary skills, I switched to the violin, believing that the western instrument sounded better. I continued playing the violin, though never mastering it, until I went to Australia when I was too occupied with my school work for anything else, though I continued listening to the violin music and collecting CDs. It was several years ago when the Covid-19 epidemic came and I was locked down at home when I picked it up and played it when I need a break from my work. With the epidemic alomost over nowadays, I only find myself playing the violin occasionally. I wish I had more time for practice.

Here is a link to a video on my Youtube channel with me playing the violin (play along) as the background music.

3. Learning to play the piano

I have tried the piano many times. But so far, my dream to be able to play this instrument remains a dream. The piano is so different from the violin. For one thing, you have to read two clefs, which I find impossible. Another difficulty is coordination of two hands. Yes, I use both hands when playing the violin. But playing the piano requires me to use both hands on the same keyboard at the same time, which I find extremely difficult. I know the piano is not my cup of tea.

Nonetheless, I find myself occasionally sitting in front of the piano and enjoying a small piece of piano music.

Question: Why would you recommend classical music to everyone?

Answer: There are several reasons why everyone should listen more to classical music. First of all, classical music makes you smarter. In comparison with pop music, classical music has a wide range of dynamics, a sophisticated harmonic language, and careful orchestration. To understand all of this, you must learn. The sheer number of musical instruments used in classical music and how they are arranged, for example, requires you put in time to learn their names and their functions, let alone learning an instrument. In the process, you become more knowledgeable and smarter. The smarter you become the more you will love classical music. Secondly, classical music is timeless. Unlike some genres of pop music which loses its fashion after only a few years, classical music, such as composed by Mozart and Beethoven, has been performed and loved for hundreds of years. Thirdly, classical music has health benefits, which has been proven by science. It helps us get relaxed more quickly. It helps with our memories. It reduces blood pressure. The brain of a baby grows faster when listening to more classical music. Finally, classical music makes you more expressive because you can appreciate and tell the differences between instruments and how they are played in different orchestras under different conductors.

Question: What classical violin music do you like the most?

Answer: Though I love and listen to all kinds of violin pieces, I love concertos more than anything else. (A concerto is a piece of classical music which usually features a solo violinist who is accompanied by an orchestra.) Among all the violin concertos, there are five that I love the best. Not only do I have a CD for each of them, I also listen to them on Youtube. Here is the list, with my favorite edition/violinist for each of them, all of which can be found on Youtube.

1.Violin Concerto, “The Butterfly Lovers”, composed by Chen Gang and He Zhanhao, violin performed by Lu Siqing

2. Violin Concerto, composed by Mendelssohn, violin performed by Izhak Perlman

3. Violin Concerto, composed by Beethoven, violin performed by Hilary Hahn

4. Violin Concerto, composed by Tchaikovsky, violin performed by Maxim Vengerov

5. Violin Concerto, composed by Sibelius, violin performed by Joshua Bell

In addition to concertos, I also like short, romantic pieces. I like them because they are beautiful, popular, and easy to play.