Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) wrote perhaps his most famous work, In the Hall of the Mountain King, in 1875. It was part of his Peer Gynt Suite. Today, 144 years later, this famous melody line is used in commercials and films worldwide. I heard it the other day in a GEICO Insurance commercial. The commercial depicts two fans of rival baseball franchises (KC Royals and St. Louis Cardinals) vying for a parking space. Take a look:
I don't see any historical correlations nor connections between Grieg and baseball. When it was premiered in 1876, baseball was indeed a professional sport in the Untied States. But Grieg never came to the United States, so he never attended a baseball game. Whether or not he even was aware of the game I can't say. But none-the-less, his music graces this commercial.
Today is the 4th of July. My neighborhood is coming alive with fireworks this afternoon following a rain shower. By dusk, it will be a war zone. I am listening to music with headphones on, trying to ignore the explosions.
This is our National Birthday...Happy Birthday America. You are my country and I love you. I am also am very ashamed of you...the genocide of our native peoples, slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, lynching, violence against gays and lesbians, industrial poisoning of our environment, corporate greed, inequality for, exploitation of, and marginalization of women, antisemitic immigration quotas in the 1930's that prevented so many Jews from escaping the Holocaust .....deep breath....and on and on.
How does this place work? I don't know...but it does. As fucked up as so much of our past is...and our present, I still would not want to live anywhere else. I pray that we all can take a deep breath and figure out how to make the future better for our children. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA.
My current listening project: listening to Beethoven's Piano Sonatas, 1-32 in order. I just finished no. 20. So far , no. 8 stands out as my favorite. No. 14, the Moonlight Sonata, holds up very well. In fact, I realize that I have taken it for granted all these years. It is one of the best known pieces of music in history, one that I have turned away from. But I rediscovered it's greatness this week.
I have the same feeling about baseball as I do about America. It's my favorite sport...I love it so much. But I am also very conflicted by it's dismal history of exclusion, bigotry and labor unrest. But I love it none-the-less. And I am also a fierce critic of the game as it stands today. I feel like the game is out of balance. Offense is the goal now...home runs in particular. I don't get excited by home runs. I get excited by pitchers who know how to throw strikes...keep the ball down in the zone, and change speeds. Alas....I am a dinosaur. Last weekend, the Red Sox and the Yankees played two games in London. Baseball is trying to develop a global presence. The first game was Saturday. Cheryl and I watched a good part of it before we left to go kayaking. Three hours later when we came back, the game was still on. And it continued for another hour. When it was finally over, the Yankees had won 17-13, and it took 4:42 minutes. This was the third longest 9-inning game in MLB history...those poor British bastards. A four hour game is crap. I found a box score for a game in 1897 between the Chicago Colts (soon to become the Cubs) and the Louisville Colonels (soon to fold) where the Colts won 36-7. The Colts scored in every inning, a feat that has only occurred twenty times in history. This game only took 2:15 to play. Imagine how long it would take today...
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Back to the first part of this post...America...our country is so beautiful. I am so blessed to be an American. Classical music is alive here too. We have so many incredible musicians making music in the USA. There is no shortage of talented, and gifted performers here. I am thankful.
