Saturday 9: Complete Symphonies

Saturday 9: Complete Symphonies (2019)

This week we're classing up the joint with a well-received box-set by the Danish Chamber Orchestra. You can listen to the orchestra here.

1) Beethoven is one of classical music's best known composers. Do you often listen to classical music?

A. I do on occasion. I wouldn't call it "often."

2) Though a musical genius, Beethoven never learned to multiply or divide. When faced with a simple arithmetic problem, do you do it in your head? Or do you rely on the calculator in your phone or on your computer?

A. It depends on the problem. Simple arithmetic I can do in my head. Nowadays, I just yell out to Alexa and she solves it for me.

3) Beethoven bathed often, which was considered "quirky" for a man of his time. (Understandable, since you had the heat the water, haul it to the tub, and then empty the tub bucket by bucket when you were done.) Do you bathe in the morning or in the evening?

A. Both. I take a long shower in the morning and quick "rinse" in the evening. I have reasons for this. If I don't shower in the morning I look like hell and if I don't shower at night I wake up sick from going to bed with dust and allergens in my hair.

4) Adam Fischer conducts the Danish Chamber Orchestra for this 5-disc set. He began his musical career young, when he sang in the children's choir of Budapest's National Opera House. Have you ever sung in a choir or chorus?

A. I played in a rock band. I was in the chorus in the 7th and 8th grades.

5) Mr. Fischer was awarded the Gold Medal of Arts from the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Tell us about a prize or award you have received. (Yes, that ribbon you earned for penmanship in second grade counts.)

A. In the second grade, I won second place for a drawing I made about littering. I used a stick person and showed him/her/it tossing trash in the can. I made it "3D" by wadding up a bit of tissue for the trash and cutting a toilet paper tube in half to create a trash can. I won $5 for it and they paid me with a check, which I signed upside down and my mother got angry because I didn't know where to sign a check. I was 7. What the hell did she expect?

6) The Danish Chamber Orchestra is beloved in Demark. When, in 2014, the Danish Broadcasting Company announced it would no longer fund the Orchestra, citizens began a crowdfunding campaign and raised more than $1,000,000 to keep the music playing. Have you ever contributed to a crowdfunding platform, like GoFundMe, Kickstarter or FundRazr?

A. I gave to a GoFundMe once and felt taken afterwards, so I won't do that again.

7) The Orchestra's "home" is the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music in Copenhagen. Where were you when you last heard music played live?

A. I was at the Harvester Performance Center in Rocky Mount, VA. I was listening to Tommy Emmanuel play guitar. Check him out here.

8) In 2019, when this boxed set was released, China became the first nation to land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon. Are you fascinated by stories about space?

A. I love stories about space. I check out the NASA site a lot, I look for the International Space Station when it flies overhead, and I go outside and watch meteor showers.

9) Random question: Tell us about your week. These are extraordinary times, and it might feel good to share.
A.  My county had its first confirmed case of Covid-19 yesterday, and today there was another run on the grocery stores locally. Having it so close makes it more real, I suppose. Mostly I have been home and I have been sick with some kind of something, but I've not run a fever. I think it is allergies. I did not go to my doctor but I emailed her so she is aware. I am going to go rest after I finish writing this. I also resolved Friday that I will not listen to someone who constantly demeans the media as journalists do their best to keep the public properly informed in demanding times.

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