BRAHMS IN THE HEARTLAND

In an earlier post I had mentioned that when I taught music appreciation several years ago, our textbook--cowritten by at least one graduate of the prestigious Oberlin Conservatory--failed to include any mention of Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), despite his historical significance and reverential standing as one of "the Three B's"--Bach, Beethoven and Brahms--considered among the very pillars of Western music and its development. At a workshop co-authored by the co-author, he shrugged off the omission and indicated that, as teachers, we were free to introduce additional topics to our curriculum--or not.

The act of omission is a powerful tool in the subversion of both history and current events, thus influencing our comprehension of who we are, where we have been, and where we are going. Lying by omission is an insidious means of distorting truth, particularly during a time when critical and independent thinking seem to be of reduced importance in our teetering educational system.

Thus it was that recently as I was entering a Menard's hardware store in suburban St. Louis, Missouri, I was pleased to hear the music of Brahms ringing forth live from a grand piano on the second floor of the spacious store. As part of Menard's efforts to provide a welcoming and soothing environment for its customers, the store provides live piano music for its customers as they search for nuts, bolts, electronics, bricks, lumber, plants and more.

It is ironic that a hardware was able to provide a bit of music education that our school failed to offer. But we can be grateful this bit of exposure was at least provided.

No, Menard's is not sponsoring this post--but hats off to the company for providing an experience of live music in its store, and hats off to the fine gentleman who performed the music. Here is a link to one of many performances of this work that can be found on YouTube. This version is performed by the famed Russian pianist Nikolai Lugansky. I selected his version because his tempo and dynamics reminded of the humble yet strong rendition I heard at Menard's by a local pianist who did his own part to educate and enrich us all:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iF4Rn2b4T8