As a young child I felt isolated with my music; it was not a fascination I shared with anyone--anyone living, that is. For certain sounds of Mozart, which I stumbled on at about twelve, seemed to connect me to him in a most familial way, for want of a better term. Though he had lived 200 years earlier the sounds he had composed made me feel connected.
I contrast this experience to that of my own children who grew up in a household in which music was the main occupation--to the extent that every babysitter I hired had to play an instrument and practice while on the job so that the children would learn that "everyone" played music.
The results of their experience differ, of course. But one of them is an entirely contemporary musical soul; she loves but does not crave attachment to music of the past. She composes and performs music that speaks to her most present reality. The other is an avid amateur horn player whose love of the orchestra takes him however far back in time the orchestra goes.
All three of us connect viscerally to one another's music. What a blessing.
