On this day, December 8th, back in 1813, Beethoven premiered his Symphony 7 in A Major, Opus 92, at a charity concert in Vienna.  The concert was in aid of wounded soldiers.

If you’ve seen the movie, “The King’s Speech” you will have heard the Allegretto movement (the entire piece is composed of four movements) ~ it’s the moving backdrop to the speech the King makes when he informs his country they are at war.

What I find quite extraordinary is that the audience apparently encored the Allegretto immediately, rather than wait to applaud at the very end of the concert.  If you’ve ever been to a classical concert, you will have no doubt observed the strict silence between movements!

Also interesting is that admiration at the time was not universal as some critics thought Beethoven had composed the piece in “a drunken, mad stupor”.

Whether Beethoven was drunken, mad, both or neither, for me this is one of the most provoking and inspiring musical creations I’ve ever experienced…

Thank you, Mr Beethoven…

Life is like an improv session

It's funny...  Countless people are scared at the thought of doing improv, but when you think about it LIFE is just like an improv session...  No one knows what the other will do or say...  The only real difference is that in improv you can't say 'no'...How would your life be…

Achieving "Mastery" with George Leonard

I have read and re-read this book several times since I picked it up, and each time I learn something different, or see something in another light. Here's the info from Amazon: "Drawing on Zen philosophy and his expertise in the martial art of aikido, bestselling author Gorge Leonard shows…