On my recent trip to Singapore, I saw Zubin Mehta conduct a predominantly Beethoven concert. Magical. I was in tears.
Anyway, it got me to thinking on the journey home, while I wasn’t checking out the Singapore girls. I have come up with this hypothesis that symphony preferred tells a lot about a person’s character and desired self-presentation.
So what I did - and this is the cunning part - was to jot down the names of around 15 Dopers with whom I have interacted most, and guess which one of the nine symphonies they would nominate as their favourite.
So, drop by and test my mini theory out. Those on my list include Owl, GorillaMan, ruadh, Shibboleth, Dexter, Tomnbebb, AndyPolley, Zoe, Starvers, Eve, Sentient Meat, matt_mcl, Polycarp, Cecil and his doppelganger/amanuensis Ed Zotti.
So you guys just name it, and I’ll tell you if I was right. Others who want to play just drop by and I’ll look in my crystal ball and tell you what’s in your heart.
It’d obviously be more challenging for those of us not on your list, since you supposedly don’t know us as well. Suppose we give you a clue – say, our favorite color or movie or non-Beethoven symphony?
No, GMAn, but I was, in my humble opinion, half right. I knew that a pro like you would never admit to liking the popular (YUK!) ones the best, so the 5th, 6th, 7th and 9th were out. That left me with the 1st and 2nd (which I discounted because they’re not much good - Mozartian, as I recall), the 3rd, the 4th and the 8th.
I went for the 3rd for you on the grounds that, though popular, it had the least recognisable tunes, and therefore would be appealing to the true musicophile.
Twickie, you seem like a nice sort of gal. Bright, but not quite in the genius category. Anyone who posts here so much, so long will be keen to be at least a little bit different from the herd, so I’m going to go for:
I know that you bat for the other side, Panache, but little else. Though you seem and amusing and quite laid back (by Doperdom standards) kid of guy. Clues would only confuse things, as well as giving me even less cred when I get it wrong.
So, here goes: 6th (Pastoral)
So, can any of you guys guess what my favourite symphony is? By a distance, in fact.
Bloody hell, I’m better than I thought. Re the concertos, I only really know (i.e. can hum - though people around me don’t encourage this) the 4th and the 5th. Once again, the 5th’s too popular for your average Doper.
Ok, pretty good work. Yes, that would be part of it. On the other hand, though, part of my genius is the Mozart-like ability to enjoy the base as well as the refined. To cock a snook at the world (especially, the world of liberals - eternally my favourite target for piss-taking) in a non-self-conscious sort of way is one mark of the prospective genius.
