My new appreciation for Brahms.

The entire month of March was all about Brahms. Meaning, I had to practice, practice, practice.

Those who know me know that I play the violin (every Asian parents’ wet dream). I started playing the instrument when I was 9 years old. I remember renting a half-sized violin and signing up for Beginner Strings Class in elementary school. Did I have a choice? Not really. My mom said, “You’re going to play the violin,” when she signed the papers. Turns out, she had a classmate crush who played the violin. Allegedly, according to our auntie, she even carried his violin case for him (great example of daddy issues). Okay, long story short, I’ve been playing the violin since and never looked away from it.

So, when I moved to NYC several years ago, one of the meaningful things that I did was to join a community orchestra. That’s how I even met my current teacher who’s a first violinist at the Met Opera. After the pandemic, in desperate need of social connections, I joined another group, NYRO, and I’ve been playing with them since.

We had our concert on April 5th and throughout the month of March, the members of the orchestra and I dedicated our souls to the complex piece, Symphony No. 4 by Brahms. Maybe not our “souls” but it required a lot of nitty-gritty work and undivided attention.

Brahms is the “master mind” of time. “If you think you’re on a down beat, you’re wrong. You have to count,” our conductor repeatedly said. It’s one of many reasons why Brahms’ music is so challenging. Most musicians can agree that his pieces are difficult to master but rewarding at the same time. That’s exactly how I’ve felt during rehearsals. I became a masochist of Brahms’ toxicity (I have my own share of daddy issues). Although it was challenging–both musically and mentally–I kept wanting to play the piece. And later, I ran into a section that I could not get down–like solving a math problem. Maybe it was the fingerings or my inability to count (yeah, I suck at rhythm). I got frustrated and went mad (sir…you’re making me practice. Are you rolling in your grave?). I had my own March Madness with Brahms–literally and figuratively.

At the concert, I truly enjoyed performing Brahms. Did I get all the notes right? Nope. Did I make mistakes? Always. Am I proud of the performance? Passable.

Importantly, I learned to appreciate the composer.

If you haven’t already, please go listen to Brahms. From the famous lullaby, Wiegenlied (1868) to his Symphonies, he really is the father of music masochism. Just kidding. He was a talented composer–ahead of his time.

Although Brahms was a much-appreciated musical challenge for me, he is not my favorite composer. I love Wagner, Dvořák, and Shostakovich. I had the privilege of attending a NY Phil concert on March 26th. They played Shostakovich Symphony No. 5. I played the piece back in 2014 when I was at Emory Youth Symphony. Good times… Now, I listen to Leonard Bernstein’s version of the Symphony religiously on Spotify.

Thanks to NYRO, I’ve grown to appreciate and like Brahms. Perhaps, one of his pieces will be on repeat someday. That’s the beauty of published music- it lives through recordings, performances, and in my case, a community-driven space.

Happy listening,

P.S. Mom’s crush–“the violin dude”–threw up eggs one day. Apparently (this is all according to our auntie), peers made fun of him as the “egg vomit boy.” Please don’t be a bully, kids. I hope his GI health got better.