The “Muse Room” is the room in my house where I make music and my wife makes visual art. Published the first Friday of the month, each issue of Letters from the Muse Room includes news and updates about my music, as well as something that has inspired me creatively over the past month.
Dear friends,
Happy New Year! (And, for the non-purists, happy new decade!) I hope you’ve had a wonderful holiday season and you’re looking forward to 2020 with great expectations.
It’s hard to believe this is the 13th edition of Letters from the Muse Room — it’s now one year old! I hope, in a similar way, that you’ve enjoyed reading these over the last year and look forward to future editions.
I’ll keep it short this month, but I wanted to share two of my goals for the upcoming year.
The first goal — my composition goal for the year — is to finish composing the piano trio I’ve been working on, plus to compose a new choral piece and a new orchestral piece.
This is an ambitious goal, but I’ve mapped out a timeline and I think I can do it. I’m almost done with the first draft of the trio, and I’m planning to share more of that with you next month.
I have some ideas for the chorus piece and the orchestra piece as well, though those ideas are still very much in R&D. Stay tuned!
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The second goal, my inspiration this month, is due to 2020 being the 250th birthday of a pretty famous composer.
Ludwig van Beethoven, probably the most revolutionary composer in the last half millennium, was born in 1770, and musicians and arts organizations the world over will be celebrating his legacy in 2020 (including my employer, the Kansas City Symphony).
I thought that a fun way to get to know Beethoven better and celebrate his bicenquinquagenary (definitely the best way to say “250th anniversary”) would be to set a goal to listen through all of his major works, including his:
– Symphonies
– Concertos (piano and otherwise)
– Overtures
– Masses
– String quartets
– Piano sonatas
And more!
I put together a list of his pieces I wanted to listen to, including some I wanted to listen to at least twice, and came up with a total of 94 listens.
Also an ambitious goal. But I’m excited to learn more about his music in a deep way this year.
What are some of your goals for 2020? I’d love to hear from you. Reply to this email and let me know!
Peace,
AJ Harbison