What is Music?
Feb. 2nd, 2009 10:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stickmakerMy mother claims to be a music fan, but it turns out the only music she likes - or even considers to be "real" music - is what she heard as a young woman. Mostly big band, with some orchestral.
A few months back I was taking her to my sister's in my car, and something came up on the CD player. She said "That's nice. What is that?"
I said "Gershwin's 'Cuban Overture.'"
"What, now?"
"That's 'Cuban Overture,' by George Gershwin."
"That's not Gershwin."
No matter how much I assured her that it had, indeed, been written by George Gershwin, she refused to accept this. It finally occurred to me that the only Gershwin pieces I had ever heard her mention by name were "Rhapsody in Blue" and "An American in Paris." To her, those and only those pieces are George Gershwin. I decided not to ask her about "Porgy and Bess" or anything else.
A few months back I was taking her to my sister's in my car, and something came up on the CD player. She said "That's nice. What is that?"
I said "Gershwin's 'Cuban Overture.'"
"What, now?"
"That's 'Cuban Overture,' by George Gershwin."
"That's not Gershwin."
No matter how much I assured her that it had, indeed, been written by George Gershwin, she refused to accept this. It finally occurred to me that the only Gershwin pieces I had ever heard her mention by name were "Rhapsody in Blue" and "An American in Paris." To her, those and only those pieces are George Gershwin. I decided not to ask her about "Porgy and Bess" or anything else.
