(Updated Sept. 19, 2022)

I started listening to classical music, if memory serves me correctly, in my late teens. This would be around 1977 or so.

As I’ve mentioned elsewhere in this blog, music has ebbed and flowed in my life: early in my life it occupied a major portion; as the years and decades passed, it became less and less so. Still, music is a part of my life and continues to come and go as the mood strikes me.

I’m not one of those men who can hear a piece of classical music and say, “Oh, this piece was composed by such and such…” Rather, my taste in classical music is somewhat limited, I think, to specific kinds. There is a lot a classical music I don’t like (opera, for example), and I think most of this is the modern classical music: it lacks much of the beauty, depth, and true genius, in my opinion, of the older classical music. So much modern classical music, to my ear and taste, is far too discordant for my liking.

Recently, while in my truck listening to our local classical music station, I heard a piece I do not believe I ever heard before and it struck me as one of the most beautiful pieces I’ve ever heard.

I asked my iPhone, “Hey, Siri, what song is this?” and the miracle of modern technology informed me it was this:

I have replayed this numerous times and find it to be one of the greatest pieces of classical music I’ve listened to. Here is what appears to be a longer version:

I certainly cannot claim to be an expert in classical music, but over the decades that I’ve enjoyed listening to it, this piece represents the type of classical music that I enjoy. Another favorite classical music style of mine is guitar, lute and piano.

Another wonderful and moving piece is titled, “Pachelbel: Canon in D”. :

And though I’m not a huge fan of opera music, this short piece below, sung by the great Luciano Pavarotti, never fails to send chills down my spine (most notably beginning at 2:42):

And another of my favorite music is Spanish guitar/flamenco, as seen and heard in this wonderful piece below:

Taking time out of our busy days to relax and enjoy the finer things of life has always been an important aspect of my philosophy of life. And something as simple and easy to do as listening to a favorite piece of classical music is one of the best that a person can do. Soul nourishing, to be sure.