# Getting to know one another



## Gouldanian (Nov 19, 2015)

Folks,

We spend a considerable amount of time discussing some of the things we love the most on these forums, mainly, but not limited to, classical music. Throughout our exchanges we develop affinities with certain members who become without knowing important contributors to our daily pleasures. I not only enjoy the topics and replies you provide but also learn from your knowledge, at which I marvel and wonder what is it that you ladies and gents do in life.

Since the age-old "What happens in your life" thread doesn't seem to cover this aspect, I thought it would be agreeable to start this thread.

I'll go first: My real name is Dany and I'm from Montreal, Canada. My favorite composer is J.S. Bach but I happen to enjoy many other composers, mostly from the classical and romantic eras. I'm very random when it comes to that, my collection of records is most incoherent. My favorite artist is Glenn Gould (obvious from my forum name) with whom I share the same birthday. Professionally I practiced corporate law at a national firm for a few years until I decided to quit and go to med school, which I'm finishing this Summer. Besides listening to music I enjoy reading and watching documentaries.

What about you?

p.s. Would you kindly help me keep this thread a little more serious than the "What happens in your life" one since I'd really like to learn about what you do and I'm sure others would as well.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

My name is Don and I was born in the Boston, Mass. area. I majored in Econ. in college and eventually became a real estate appraiser. That was a very nice solo job, but I left it be a real estate chief in Albuquerque for the Army Corps of Engineers. Not a good idea; I found people a major pain in the neck. I retired about 12 years ago at age 56. Now I concentrate on my real property investments, wife, children/grandchildren/great grandchild and fast driving.

Bach's my main man, although I much enjoy most classical music except for the modern type. I'm a solo person, don't talk a great deal and place high priority on being concise (except for this posting).


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## Cosmos (Jun 28, 2013)

Sounds like a nice idea.

My name is Nick, I live in a suburb of Chicago, and I'm about a month away from graduating. Studied English and writing, I hope to work in publishing until I can eventually publish my own short stories, poetry, and [if I *ever* get an idea for one] novels. I love to read general fiction. I also like taking long walks, I like the outdoors, I like trying food from around the world, and I like staying in on lazy nights and watching a guilty-pleasure show or movie on Netflix. I also have a classical music blog on tumblr, where I share different pieces and talk a bit about them. Puedo hablar español, pero es mas facil para mi escribir que hablar. También, no sé las reglas de gramática. Pienso que mi sintaxis es en desorden.

Music tastes: so I don't have a single favorite composer, but my top three are Bach, Mahler, and Beethoven. Their music never gets stale with me. Also, my specific tastes change all the time. My favorite music tends to fall under the category of 19th century Vienna. I used to love solo piano music more than anything else, but recently I've started to hold chamber music above just solo piano. I also have a soft spot for piano concertos from everywhere and from all times.


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## Gouldanian (Nov 19, 2015)

Cosmos said:


> Sounds like a nice idea.
> 
> My name is Nick, I live in a suburb of Chicago, and I'm about a month away from graduating. Studied English and writing, I hope to work in publishing until I can eventually publish my own short stories, poetry, and [if I *ever* get an idea for one] novels. I love to read general fiction. I also like taking long walks, I like the outdoors, I like trying food from around the world, and I like staying in on lazy nights and watching a guilty-pleasure show or movie on Netflix. I also have a classical music blog on tumblr, where I share different pieces and talk a bit about them. Puedo hablar español, pero es mas facil para mi escribir que hablar. También, no sé las reglas de gramática. Pienso que mi sintaxis es en desorden.
> 
> Music tastes: so I don't have a single favorite composer, but my top three are Bach, Mahler, and Beethoven. Their music never gets stale with me. Also, my specific tastes change all the time. My favorite music tends to fall under the category of 19th century Vienna. I used to love solo piano music more than anything else, but recently I've started to hold chamber music above just solo piano. I also have a soft spot for piano concertos from everywhere and from all times.


Thanks for sharing this. I also like taking long walks... difficult to do in Canadian Winter but most enjoyable in Spring and Fall. I also happen to have a classical music blog which I started mainly to get my friends and their friends into classical music ("Dany Afram's blog on classical music and history" on Facebook).

I can also relate to staying in on lazy nights and a soft spot for solo piano and piano concertos.

@Bulldog - Glad you've agreed to share about yourself.


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## majlis (Jul 24, 2005)

Well, I'm a retired lawyer from Buenos Aires, now unemployed and pensioner. I'm collecting classical since my teen age (60 years ago!). First vynils, now CD. In 30 years I got little more than 2000, 70% chamber and string&orchestra. From Bach I jump to Haydn, and then all the rest. Favorites, 19 and first half 20 centuries composers, and historical recordings. And above all, rarities:unusual, little known, unplayed live, forgotten composers, works and players.


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## Gouldanian (Nov 19, 2015)

majlis said:


> Well, I'm a retired lawyer from Buenos Aires, now unemployed and pensioner. I'm collecting classical since my teen age (60 years ago!). First vynils, now CD. In 30 years I got little more than 2000, 70% chamber and string&orchestra. From Bach I jump to Haydn, and then all the rest. Favorites, 19 and first half 20 centuries composers, and historical recordings. And above all, rarities:unusual, little known, unplayed live, forgotten composers, works and players.


Your 16th post in 11 years on this forum is a reply to my invitation to talk about yourself... And I'm very glad you did.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Gouldanian said:


> Your 16th post in 11 years on this forum is a reply to my invitation to talk about yourself... And I'm very glad you did.


Wow you got that right! Welcome back, majils, if you've taken this long break and plan to come back again to us!

My professional website I think makes a proper introduction for anyone who wants to get to know me, especially to see who I am other than a Russian nut  My site's link is in my signature below.

What I don't mention on the site is my personal life, which I would say includes reading and creative writing. I also _do _listen to music other than just Russian music (take flute music for instance!), but since there are literally dozens of Russian composers, I've been quite content to have them fill the majority of my listening routine as a part of my researching.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Gouldanian said:


> Your 16th post in 11 years on this forum is a reply to my invitation to talk about yourself... And I'm very glad you did.


Besides that, if one fill in his or her profile we would be a lot wiser.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

My name is Hennie, I'm a 58 y old male. Born and raised in the Netherlands, went to Delft University of Technology (PhD in Chemistry in 1984), worked for a multinational oil company from 1984 until 2012 (when I took the chance to retire early). I was posted in Singapore for the company in 1999 as the head of a research laboratory and manager of a chemicals factory. There I met my wife, a talented artist from Shanghai. We got married in 2000. In 2002 we moved to France for a similar position at a refinery in Rouen, and we picked up our cocker spaniel Jazz there (he's still with us). In 2004 we moved back to the Netherlands, where I spent my last 8 years for the company heading a large research department.

In 2012 we moved to Kampen, a beautiful medieval city, where we opened an art gallery in our new house (a 17th century national monument), extended with a studio about 100 m away in 2015.

My main hobby has always been listening to music. Pop and rock, gradually focusing on prog, classical from 1986 onward, jazz from 1999 onward. Further interests include art in general, photography (I specialize in abstracts), football (soccer), chess and bridge. The latter two I have played competitively from 1980 until about 1990, reaching the second Dutch division in chess.

Until my retirement, we loved to travel for holidays, including most west, south and central European countries, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, China, USA, Canada and many others.


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## majlis (Jul 24, 2005)

Well, you see, i always take things slowly and with much calm. When you´re in a hurry, you miss things up. Like Martha. Besides, i'm a 20th.century man, and a change of century was a trauma to me.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

majlis said:


> Well, you see, i always take things slowly and with much calm. When you´re in a hurry, you miss things up. Like Martha. Besides, i'm a 20th.century man, and a change of century was a trauma to me.


But you recovered well I hope?


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## Gordontrek (Jun 22, 2012)

What the heck! I'll go. 
I'm John. Born and raised in Huntsville, Alabama, and I'm currently a music education major at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. This school has a highly renowned engineering department, what with this city being one of America's aerospace capitals, so when I tell people around here I'm NOT in fact an engineer they're usually surprised. 
Been listening to classical music since before I was born- yes my mother did the "in utero" approach with headphones on the stomach. Who knows whether that works or not, but I've been hooked ever since. So I have no complaints. Started my first music lessons at 5. 
Forgetting music, I have several hobbies. First, astronomy. I would be an astronomy major if I wasn't a musician. Part of this is due to the city I grew up in. Living not far from the U.S. Space and Rocket Center piqued my interest in space, and it's never waned. If it's a clear night, chances are you'll find me outside with my telescope laboring unsuccessfully to find nebulae and galaxies. 
Second, sports. Here in the great state of Alabama, there is NOTHING people are more passionate about (maybe except Jesus) than college football, and everyone has a team. According to our trash talk, you're either a Bammer (Alabama) or a Barner (Auburn). My family has cheered on the Alabama Crimson Tide for generations, so Roll Tide. My own football career was short-lived. I played a couple seasons on a local church team. I absolutely loved it, but I've never been much of an athlete. I had decent speed, but the agility of a walrus. I quickly decided that I liked classical music better. 
My favorite sport, though, is baseball. I prefer the Atlanta Braves- again, another family tradition since the Hank Aaron days. I would have played but I can't hit the broad side of a barn. 
And that's me. I posit to you that I have the largest classical CD collection of any *******.  Favorite composer? I would have to say Tchaikovsky. I'm a sucker for great melodies. I listen to more of his music than just about any other composer.


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## majlis (Jul 24, 2005)

Not quite. I've still nightmares, like to be seated on a theatre and forced to listen to a recital by Gitlys and Martha. Awful!


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## Stavrogin (Apr 20, 2014)

My name is Giuseppe.
I am 37 and I live in Milan, Italy, where I moved (from Sicily, where I was born) 19 years ago to study Economics.
I work as a researcher/consultant, mainly for a University here in Milan, but also as a free lance.
I am married to a wonderful woman from my hometown and we have two kids, a boy of 4 and a girl of 1.5.


Music is my biggest hobby, even though I never studied it.
I was hardly exposed to art music as a child, however classical music has been in my radar since I started listening to music as a hobby.
Then, the serious passion for music started off in my teenage years mainly in the rock domain, and then spread throughout almost any musical field out there (in the Western world at least). For more than 5 years now my musical explorations have focused on classical only.
Beethoven and Prokofiev are by far my favourite composers, but I enjoy a lot of things in a range that spans from the Classical period, through the Late Romantic (especially), to the modern and contemporary.
A lot of other hobbies here... including football (soccer), traveling, food, literature, figurative art, etc.


And while we're at it...
I never mentioned here what I am now about to write, but why not, maybe there is someone in the same condition? Might be mutually helpful.
Our girl was born with spina bifida. A lipomyelomeningocele to be precise - diagnosed at birth. Tough times, but, thank God, our baby has been a warrior and the double surgery she had at 50 days of age seems to have been a huge success.
When she was born, no doctor would have bet on her being able to walk, let alone control bowel & bladder. Well, she started walking on her own at 16 months of age (last october), and she's still got diaper but she does seem to have regular habits - we plan to take it off come spring time.


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## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

My name is Lars, a 67 year male, and I was born in Michigan but the family moved West to California when I was about 9 months old. Spent all my growing/education years in Orange County (CA) and it was there, in 1961, that I began my long term career of being a church organist, which I still do to this day some 55 years later. 

I have not spent Christmas Eve at home since I was 13 years old; always in church playing for services that night. 

Education wise, I wanted to pursue a doctorate in organ and become a professor, but in the 70's reports were emerging that the universities were turning out 250,000 teachers per year with no places to go. So after my AA degree I changed gears to electronics and worked for a defense manufacturing plant for many many years, retiring from that in 2006. All the time holding down a grinding 40 hour work week I continued with all my church work. 

Married, and we have 3 sons, aged 28, 32 and 36; the eldest two are getting hitched this year. We own our own home and have three cats: Melvin (Maine ****), Max (Turkish Angora), Mosi (multi-colored tabby. "Mosi" is Navajo (Indian) for "cat". 

My wife is 4 years younger and also retired from the mainstream 40 hour rat race. We both work as intermittent employees for our local recorder's office during the election seasons, of which there are four in 2016 in Arizona, having just completed the first round. That extra income is paying for the trips to both weddings this year, the later one being in Cozumel Mexico. 

I was reared in a classical music family. Mom and Dad were performers in the Scandinavian Symphony (violin and tuba - you figure out which one played what .. :lol and later in the Long Beach (CA) Philharmonic. We kids woke up to classical music and since my sister plays the viola, the four of us would sit around in the evenings playing music together, me on the piano, of course. 

Both parents passed on years ago and I was the organist for their funeral services about a year apart which were the most difficult church services I have ever played in my life, but I felt that I owed that much to them and to honor them with music as opposed to a spoken eulogy. 

I often have the local classical radio station (KUAT) tuned in the car and at home. Also have a liking for listening to The Carpenters, John Denver, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Jim Nabors, Johhny Cash, and Frank Sinatra as performers as well as the swing ere of the "Big Bands".


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## Gouldanian (Nov 19, 2015)

Gordontrek said:


> I posit to you that I have the largest classical CD collection of any *******.  Favorite composer? I would have to say Tchaikovsky. I'm a sucker for great melodies. I listen to more of his music than just about any other composer.


A "*******" who loves Tchaikovsky... How's that working for you among your peers? :lol:

I too happen to love baseball and football, but I haven't played either (unless you count softball as playing baseball). I had to play Canada's national sport instead (no, not curling... hockey).

I've always hated your Braves since they used to prevent my team, the late Expos, from reaching the post-season.


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## Gouldanian (Nov 19, 2015)

Stavrogin said:


> And while we're at it...
> I never mentioned here what I am now about to write, but why not, maybe there is someone in the same condition? Might be mutually helpful.
> Our girl was born with spina bifida. A lipomyelomeningocele to be precise - diagnosed at birth. Tough times, but, thank God, our baby has been a warrior and the double surgery she had at 50 days of age seems to have been a huge success.
> When she was born, no doctor would have bet on her being able to walk, let alone control bowel & bladder. Well, she started walking on her own at 16 months of age (last october), and she's still got diaper but she does seem to have regular habits - we plan to take it off come spring time.


As a med student I always love hearing stories like this... Some things are just bigger than science. Like Voltaire once said: "medicine is the art of entertaining people until nature does its job."


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## Gordontrek (Jun 22, 2012)

Gouldanian said:


> A "*******" who loves Tchaikovsky... How's that working for you among your peers? :lol:
> 
> I too happen to love baseball and football, but I haven't played either (unless you count softball as playing baseball). I had to play Canada's national sport instead (no, not curling... hockey).
> 
> I've always hated your Braves since they used to prevent my team, the late Expos, from reaching the post-season.


Well, the fact that I like Tchaikovsky isn't much of a problem. The fact that I hate country music is! I'll tell you what happened once: I was listening to music and a friend came around and asked what I was listening to. I said, "Corelli." He said, "Who are they?" :lol: My own lack of knowledge of the current hot bands has led to many a humorous event...
I'm actually more detached from the Braves right now than I've ever been. They somehow think it's a good idea to trade all the franchise players for injured prospects who have no business playing higher than the minors. My next go-to team is the St. Louis Cardinals. I'll probably follow them more than the Braves this year.


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## Tristan (Jan 5, 2013)

Sure, I'll introduce myself here 

My name, not surprisingly, is Tristan. I'm a 19-year-old college student from the Bay Area, California, where I was born and raised. I've been listening to classical music since I was a toddler and it remains my favorite macro-genre of music (in particular, the late Romantic era is my favorite with composers like Tchaikovsky, Mahler, and Rachmaninov ranking highest on my list), though I am also partial to indie rock and pop, as well as EDM. Aside from my love of classical music, my primary interest is linguistics and languages. I am currently working toward a degree in linguistics, with specific emphasis on historical linguistics and ancient languages (in particular Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit). I hope to become a Latin teacher and eventually a professor some day. I have done a lot of work on my own constructed language, and I am also an amateur writer and have written one complete novel and a number of other shorter works. I read constantly and my favorite authors are Kafka, John Fowles, and Jorge Luis Borges. Some miscellaneous information: I collect antique fans, my favorite number is 11, and my favorite cuisine is Mexican. I also enjoy photographing nature and mountain biking. Nice to meet you and anyone else here who doesn't know me.


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

My name is Susanna, that is how it is spelled in my passport. Where I live, in Minsk, Belarus, it is a very rare name. In all of my 29 years of life I have only met two other Susannas. However, in the Germanic (English- and German-speaking) world it is a quite ordinary name, and I have always taken it for a sign as to where I really belong to. 

I've been in a relationship with a fine man from Hamburg, Germany for about six years now. In September we are going to submit our paperwork to the local registry office and get married sometime at the beginning of 2017. 

About six months after I met my fiance and started to learn his native language, I was first introduced to the music of Wagner. It hit me like a hammer, and I realized I had found a treasure that I had been looking for all my life. A year later I found TalkClassical and understood Wagner was not the only great composer out there. Since then I specialize in the great Germans and Austrians. It's not that composers from other countries are somehow worse, it's just that there is so much of German music to discover. My favourite composers, apart from Wagner, are Beethoven, Schubert, Bruckner and Richard Strauss. 

And over the years my Germanophile passion has spilled over into other areas of my life.

I work for a trucking company about 80% of whose trips are to Germany and Austria (I do a bit of sales and customer service as well as giving directions to the drivers and taking care of all their needs - visas, gas money and all).

My other hobbies are cycling (in three weeks I am going to take part in my first 200-km marathon), reading, languages (after I reach a certain level of German I want to start with Swedish or Dutch) and travel.

That's pretty much me in a nutshell


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

One only has to check the "about me" tab in the link to my profile.

I am weary of mentioning my real name because of a bad experience I had in another forum.

In that forum I used my real name. As most know I am a member of several community groups that I perform with. Well in this other forum several of it members threaten to complain about me to some of the groups I perform with because I defended modern music. This other forum is poorly moderated and eventually I had to leave it.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

I'm Mollie, a retired English teacher - my degree was from Durham University. I grew up in York, with a mother from the English midlands and a father from Dundee, Scotland. I have five brothers and sisters. We were not a classical music family, but in the 1950s & 1960s, one couldn't avoid hearing popular classical pieces, and I also learned the violin thanks to a scheme for free teaching in schools provided by York Education Committee. 

I converted to Catholicism on my marriage, and have been happily married for 42 years but we were never blessed with children. I have come to terms with that now. We have had a series of cats and dogs, but are pet-less at present because my mother, who lives very near us, has dementia and who knows what the future will hold? 

I have always loved words, poetry, songs, reading, & writing stories - but at present my energies are directed towards learning folk fiddle, particularly Scottish traditional music. 

Joining Talk Classical has made a huge difference to our lives. I have learned a bit about music, and am not quite so ignorant as I was before. My favourite types of music remain 1. Folk Music 2. Early Music and 3. Baroque Music, but I have found plenty of individual pieces from later ages which I think are beautiful. I don't really have a favourite composer, but I am very fond of Lully, Handel & William Byrd. Also, because of Talk Classical I have got to know - in a limited way - some very fine people. I am, and have always been, a 'square' person, but because of TC I have more of an inkling about modern life and IT.

Great thread. Thank you, Talk Classical. :tiphat:


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## david johnson (Jun 25, 2007)

Greetings to my fellow and sister listeners! I am a retired music educator with too many degrees. My music likes are diverse, but my recording collection is mostly on the classical side. I do understand and enjoy what I call 'original' country music - Carter family, Hank Sr, Ozark Folk Center (I get to sing Sacred Harp style on stage each summer). I'm mostly a trumpet player who sings a lot at church, though. Black coffee is a must.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

I think I've secretly wanted to know a lot of you guys better for a long time!

As for myself, it's really hard to choose what to tell, simply because there is a wealth of things to tell. Childhood, studies, work, family, music, hobbies, interests, personality, goals and dreams etc. Hmm.

I am a 38-year-old Finnish man who lives in Finland. I come from a family line who have been Lutheran priests here since the 16th century. My family has also always involved itself in Finnish politics; we've been here, shaping the fate of this country since the beginning.

I have two degrees, a MSc in Biology and a MA in Comparative Literature. My life can be characterized by this: very little money, a wealth of knowledge. I've studied my whole life and worked (as in, got paid) very little. I have a wife and two sons, aged 1 and 3. Currently I'm taking care of the boys and doing my share of housework. My wife is trying to finish her degree in linguistics.

People can't usually figure me out very well, although they tend to like me. I'm very talkative, I make speeches and lectures but I am a great listener as well. I have a very gentle heart, a soul that craves rapture and ecstasy, and a detached, analyzing mind. This makes me a person of paradoxes. My love is unconditional and utmostly devoted to the end; my hatred is cold, cruel and venomous. I am the most patient person I know. I have no anger. I am obsessed about self-sacrifice. I need very small things to fill myself with a trembling, a vertigo, a religious-sexual feeling of life. That is why I need very little.

I read a lot. Classics in literature, philosophy, theology. Plus academic studies. I am a vegetarian, and a great cook, considering how little money I have to buy ingredients.

I am a hardline idealist; I don't respect reality. I have no illusions about reality, though. Reality is real but Spirit is true, and much more important. I have sympathies for Roman Catholics and Marxist Communists.

I don't think there's a single person in the world who completely understands me. That all right, however; understanding is very important but love is even more important. Love bridges the gaps that understanding cannot cross.


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## Gouldanian (Nov 19, 2015)

Xaltotun said:


> Love bridges the gaps that understanding cannot cross.


Perfect. Thanks for sharing...


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

My name is Robert, and I'm a former free lance French hornist and sometimes substitute music teacher in public schools who is currently out of commission because of a physical disability .
I studied music and education at Hofstra university on Long Island and did graduate work in performance and musicology at Queens college .C.U.N.Y . and Stony Brook university .
I performed in a wide, wide variety of orchestras, concert bands, chamber ensembles ,opera companies and pit orchestras for musicals etc under such well known conductors as Maurice Peress, Joann Falletta , Arthur Weisberg, Dalia Atlas, Anthony Morss and others and have performed in Italy, Switzerland, Australia ,New Zealand and Samoa etc and served as a substitute music teacher at various public schools on Long Island for many years .
I was at the classical music critic for student newspapers at Queens college and Hofstra , and my classical music blog "The Horn " is at blogiverssty.org , a website with blogs on a wide variety of topics . I cover classical music for it .
My tastes in classical music are extremely catholic ; orchestral music, opera, chamber music, choral repertoire , you name it . I don't have a favorite composer because there is so much wonderful music by so many composers of all periods this is impossible . But I have a special love of Wagner, Bruckner, Mahler, Dvorak, Smetana, Richard Strauss , Janacek, Nielsen, Sibelius , Prokofiev, and Shostakovich among others .
I am also fond of world music such as Tuvan throat singing, and the traditional music of Central Asia and the Caucasus .
Among my other interests are world history , ethnology , and linguistics . One of my hobbies is learning something of such exotic languages as Turkish, Hungarian, Finnish and even Georgian, Tatar, Kazakh and Mongolian among others . The more exotic the language, the more interesting .


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

My name is Richard, and I'm a 58 year old Physican in a Chicago suburb. I became fascinated with Classical Music in my early teens. I have attempted Piano lessons at several times in my life but always quit in frustration. I have 3 children--triplets, now 30, and thus the origin of my TC name--from my first marriage, and I have been remarried to a wonderful woman that loves music for 12 years now. Besides music my principal hobbies are reading (history, philosophy, and classic literature) and audiophilia and trying to think of new ways to surprise my two infant grandchildren.
Had a few health scares of my own the last few years, and am learning to appreciate the important stuff and ignore the rest.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I'm not sure how wise it is to get me started. People do love to talk about themselves and I'm as human as the next person. But one can always skim read. . . 

Real name: Kevin. I am a mere handful of days away from turning 60 as of this writing, but still feel about 16 in my mind.

I have a lifelong interest in science, science fiction literature, art and music, not necessarily in that order. As a result I somehow miraculously have had a career as a science /science fiction and fantasy illustrator back in the late 80s through the 1990s, having done a few SF paperback covers, some cover and interior work for the Dungeons and Dragons magazines and games, some collectable card games, some science encyclopedia illustrations, and even a couple of mission brochures for two of NASA's shuttle launches. Those were great gigs for a younger person who can put up with lean times, but I was never hugely successful at it. Not a hard enough work ethic I guess. I was just successful enough to call myself an artist with confidence and be proud of what I accomplished. Now I am a little more gainfully employed at a major University in Nashville, Tennessee. I help pay their bills and they help pay mine. I'm a fish out of water in that world, but my electricity stays on and I can plan for retirement. I am an artist still of course, but not exclusively so, and a lot slower to finish works than I used to be! (And sadly I can't muster the focus I used to have, much to my distress.)

I am a big proponent of cycling. I belong to a group promoting walking and cycling as a viable alternative form of transportation in Nashville. I often commute 14 miles home on the greenway via bicycle. It only takes a little longer than an automobile commute due to the traffic jams, and as a bonus I'm getting lots of exercise. I have recently lost about a quarter of my body weight from cycling and dieting and generally feel great for my age.

I came to classical music long before I liked popular music so I have been a classical music fan for nearly 50 years. Of course I like rock now too, and electronica, and some folk and jazz. My favorite classical composers are -- well, just about all of them! 400 years of music and so little time.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

A few notes: my avatar shows the poet Robinson Jeffers, whose work, along with that of Herman Mellville (_Moby Dick_), and of the reclusive painter Albert Pinkham Ryder, helps define much of my esthetic sense. In music, it's no secret that I am a Bach-to-Bartok classical fan, a lover of rock/pop, and of traditional cante flamenco.

My other interests include open-water kayaking, backyard astronomy, reading (history, biography, science, a little fiction), thinking. Some books for a desert island: Boswell's _Life of Johnson_, Leo Rosten's _The Joys of Yiddish_, the De Voto edition of the _Journals_ of Lewis and Clark, _Moby Dick_ (of course), and both _The Lord of the Rings_ and _The Silmarillion_.

Some quotes I like that I have adopted: Dr. Johnson's old schoolmate Oliver Edwards tells Johnson, "You are a philosopher, Dr. Johnson. I have tried too in my time to be a philosopher; but, I don't know how, cheerfulness was always breaking in." And, from the TV version of Anthony Trollope's The Pallisers: The Duke of Omnium on his deathbed says, "I hope for nothing, and I fear for nothing." Suits me.


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## taktojawojtek (Mar 5, 2016)

Gouldanian said:


> Professionally I practiced corporate law at a national firm for a few years until I decided to quit and go to med school, which I'm finishing this Summer.


Hi!

How old you were when you started med school?


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

My name is Richard (Rich). I was a clerical worker in offices, and am now living on an SSDI pension with emphysema. It's my own fault I'm attached to an oxygen tank.

M'daddy was rich and my ma was good-lookin' .... Oh wait! That's Gershwin. 

Seriously, my father was a classically trained pianist who played New Orleans-style jazz, and my mother was an amateur poet. I grew up listening to pop music (60's top 40 stuff and Broadway tunes). I started learning theory, counterpoint and orchestration in Jr High and High School, and had arrangements played by the school band. I started composing by accident at 15. It took me 11 years to finally go to college and major in music (composition), and once I had the degree, I lost interest in composing. Funny how that works. The last work I composed was in 1993. 

I still have an interest in music, but these days it's limited to listening. The music of Debussy, Ravel and Faure holds my attention, as does Copland, Barber, Bernstein, Gershwin, Griffes and Hanson. 

I enjoy reading these posts in Talk Classical and contributing when I have something intelligent to say.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

^^^^ I hope that the urge to compose returns, QuietGuy. Sorry to read about your ill-health. Best wishes, Mollie


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## clara s (Jan 6, 2014)

Strange Magic said:


> A few notes: my avatar shows the poet Robinson Jeffers, whose work, along with that of Herman Mellville (_Moby Dick_), and of the reclusive painter Albert Pinkham Ryder, helps define much of my esthetic sense. In music, it's no secret that I am a Bach-to-Bartok classical fan, a lover of rock/pop, and of traditional cante flamenco.
> 
> My other interests include open-water kayaking, backyard astronomy, reading (history, biography, science, a little fiction), thinking. Some books for a desert island: Boswell's _Life of Johnson_, Leo Rosten's _The Joys of Yiddish_, the De Voto edition of the _Journals_ of Lewis and Clark, _Moby Dick_ (of course), and both _The Lord of the Rings_ and _The Silmarillion_.
> 
> Some quotes I like that I have adopted: Dr. Johnson's old schoolmate Oliver Edwards tells Johnson, "You are a philosopher, Dr. Johnson. I have tried too in my time to be a philosopher; but, I don't know how, cheerfulness was always breaking in." And, from the TV version of Anthony Trollope's The Pallisers: The Duke of Omnium on his deathbed says, "I hope for nothing, and I fear for nothing." Suits me.


so, you like "I hope for nothing, I fear for nothing"

this has and a third part ... "I am free"

the original saying belongs to the philosopher Dimonaktas, who was born in Cyprus
and lived in Athens, Greece, the 2nd century AD.

One day, he was asked whom he considers to be free
and Dimonaktas replied "Free is the person, that hopes for nothing and fears nothing"

great quote


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Thanks for tracing back that quote, clara s. I am also therefore reminded of Brahms' motto: _Frei aber froh_, Free but Happy. Brahms--one of my very favorite composers.


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