Saturday 30 April 2011

Is this the most beautiful piece of music ever written?

It has been a busy Bank Holiday weekend.

Yesterday saw the big Royal wedding. Whatever may be said about the monarchy, it was clear that at its very base yesterday, what we had was the marriage of two human beings who are clearly in love with each other. This is not the shot-gun sham of a marriage that this country witnessed 30 years before when Williams's parents walked down the aisle at St Paul's Cathedral. I stuffed election envelopes as I watched it with my mother and it was an uplifting spectacle. So good luck to them both - I hope they have a long and happy life together.

Today saw a real day of mixed emotions. First of all was the sadness of the funeral of Denfa Rees in Aberporth. Denfa was a staunch liberal and an enthusiastic and active supporter who had been brought down in recent months with incresaingly failing health. He will be missed.

From there it was the spectacle and pomp of a glorious Barley Saturday when the country comes to town in style. Closed streets and thousands of locals and tourists alike watch on as horses, vintage tractors and vintage vehicles parade through Cardigan town centre. Then it was election canvassing with a willing group of supporters alongside our excellent candidate Elizabeth Evans. It's what Denfa would've wanted and hopefully we can deliver a good liberal result for him in Ceredigion this coming Thursday.

The Mellow Sounds of the Piano
So I find myself tonight, tired and feeling jaded from the rollercoaster of emotions that has swept over me over recent weeks and over the last few days in particular.

With an opportunity to re-charge my batteries in readiness for the final days of the election that lie ahead, I've been listening to my 'Piano Moods' CD which to my shame, rarely gets a play here at home because I have such a vast collection of music that much often gets overlooked as is the case here.

But not tonight. On needing to unwind and to be transported into another world, I plumped for the piano to do the work and it has not let me down. I love my classical music and I love my modern pop and rock and easy listening music to boot. But the one musical instrument that connects the two and indeed which is at the heart of my love of music, is the sound of the piano.

So I've been listening to some wonderful, soothing, soulful tracks tonight including Nocturne No.2 by Chopin, Beethoven's Fur Elise and Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini.

But the one that really took me to a better place was a piece of music that I have adored since I first heard it - probably as a child. It is one of the most beautiful pieces of music, of any genre, that I have had the pleasure of listening too.

It's Mozart and it's his Piano Concerto No.21 in C Major.



If anyone knows of a more heavenly sound, then please get in touch because I want to hear it. But I'm not holding my breath.

My music is a great release to me and on evenings like tonight, when I'm all tired and searching for a mellow sound to soothe those tired feet, I can be sure that somewhere in my CD collection, I have the sound needed for that moment.

For this moment tonight, this wonderful piece of Mozart is exactly what I needed.

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