# If absence makes the heart grow fonder....



## ProudSquire (Nov 30, 2011)

Can the same be said of music? I pose this question because recently I have returned to some pieces of music that I had abstained from for a period, about a year or so, of time, and what an unexpected return it was. A rekindling of the magic that had transfixed my ears and very soul, a bit of an exaggeration on my part, to those pieces of music when I had heard them for the very first time. Not to mention how greatly surprised I was by the sudden realization that, I had truly missed those pieces. In my case the compositions happened to be Mozart's 41st symphony and Beethoven's 7th, but I believe this can relate to a number of compositions.

So, has this happened to anyone? And if so, please do share. Perhaps the sentiments were or were not the same?

TPS


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## Gouldanian (Nov 19, 2015)

Sometimes we feel that we've grown beyond the piece, that we've deciphered it, mastered it and that now it's _chose du passé_.

When that happens we step out of our comfort zone and explore. Which is healthy. But inevitably, our arrogance comes crashing down when we intentionally or unintentionally hear the piece again and find ourself marvelling at it's beauty as if it were the first time all over again.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

It happens to me all of the time. I have oodles of pieces that I nearly ache for, but after a few spins over a few days, I need to put them aside. I play all of my albums and keep track of it, so that none get missed, and I'm constantly going off on exploratories on YT and elsewhere, so it takes me two years and counting of determined commitment to complete the cycle of my collected albums. By the time I do get back to a work that I am hankering to hear, I'm ready for it. That goes for pieces I've known all of my life as well as ones I just discovered last year. The longer I've known a piece, the more meaningful it is for me. In it's familiarity, it's a part of my past, my experience, my joy—and I never fail to surprise myself in hearing something new in it. Sometimes, this could be due to a new set of speakers, a new performance, a greater level of attention, hopefully a greater capacity for understanding the music through what I have learned since the last time around, a fortunate constellation of affective receptivity and compatible music, etc.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

OP: Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, no.

I recently returned to the Beethoven symphonies after several years abstinence due to over-exposure. No good. My mind wandered and I was bored. A case of too much listening over many years. Perhaps, one day...

Same deal with Shostakovich, except this time the reverse happened and I fell in love. My latest infatuation is with his Fourth Symphony. Can't get enough Shostakovich at this time.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I explore far and wide, often not fully enjoying some of my explorations, but for me it's a necessity partly because of this very effect. Exploring can be exciting and finding new things to obsess over is great when it happens, but coming "home" to familiar works is then an amazing experience. So yes, abstinance makes the heart grow fonder.


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## Heliogabo (Dec 29, 2014)

I've been listening a lot of baroque music for the las two months, Zelenka, a lot of Vivaldi and Telemann, Locatelli and Veracini among the italians, Rameau, Couperin et Charpentier, the stunning discovering of Rebel, among the frenchs, a bit of Purcell and Handel, great traversal to my ears, but no Bach for me on this weeks. Last nigh I returned to the Brandenburg concertos, and other pieces composed by him, my very first love in classical, and suddenly was clear to me why Bach is Bach, why his music is so special, deep and unique. I was back to Bach.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

hpowders said:


> OP: Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, no.
> 
> I recently returned to the Beethoven symphonies after several years abstinence due to over-exposure. No good. My mind wandered and I was bored. A case of too much listening over many years. Perhaps, one day...
> 
> Same deal with Shostakovich, except this time the reverse happened and I fell in love. My latest infatuation is with his Fourth Symphony. Can't get enough Shostakovich at this time.


I have had this experience too, that it depends on the piece. I abandoned Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 decades ago when it was still considered No. 5. I just wore it out. I still appreciate that it is a great work, an accessible "gateway drug" into classical music, but I haven't yet been able to return to it.


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