As bad as things are, all is not lost. Here are three clips of good live music.
First, a farewell performance, by Crowded House, of Neil Finn’s Don’t Dream It’s Over. I’ve always thought this is a beautiful, beautiful song, and by the time this version was recorded in 1996, Mr. Finn’s voice, which had such a youthful timbre on the 1986 studio recording, had matured very nicely. I like this version even better than the original.
Next, a 2011 performance, by a reunited 10cc, of their groundbreaking hit song I’m Not In Love. Often, when these old bands get back together for a reunion tour, it’s just to “phone it in” for a few weeks on the road in order to shear some balding Boomers of a lorry-load
of disposable cash. Not so here; this is a really outstanding performance of one of the best popular songs of its decade.
Once you’re done with those, it’s time to scale the summit: a magnificent 2012 performance of Beethoven’s Third Symphony, by Daniel Barenboim’s East-Western Divan. If, like me, you consider the music of Beethoven to be the apex of human achievement, you’ll enjoy this.
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If, like me, you consider the music of Beethoven to be the apex of human achievement, you’ll enjoy this.
If the universe asked Homo sapiens what it had done to justify its existence, playing some Beethoven would be a good response. But if Beethoven is superhuman, Mozart is supernatural. And Wagner didn’t do too badly. Unlike him, Beethoven didn’t face the problem of composing in the shadow of Beethoven.