I cannot believe the emotional roller-coaster that this symphony is. Movement 1 makes me laugh, Movement 2 makes me cry, Movement 3 makes me serene and movement 4 makes me dance. It's a brilliant, brilliant piece of music.
I'm not a classical music snob, and I hate it when people only listen to classical, but I still can't repress a feeling of sympathy for people who only listen to pop. No pop song has ever made me feel that way, taken me on such a long and complex tour of my own emotions, and left me feeling clean and restored. I just feel like those who stay away from classical music, either because it's "boring" or they think it's "only for smart people" or they "don't understand it" are missing so, so much experience. Those things are simply not true! There's nothing to understand there except human emotion. Sure, if you know about music theory (which I don't) I'm sure it enriches your experience, but you don't need to know anything. You just need to open your mind to a different kind of listening. It's not hard -- it's just different. And it gives you so much back...
And while I'm on the subject, once I heard a thesis -- it was on Stephen Fry's podcast, actually -- that the difference between classical and popular music is that popular music is dance music, and "you can't dance to Beethoven". Beethoven's Seventh is where this thesis crumbles. The whole thing is dancey. Even the tragic second movement, which my dad calls the "Funeral Tango". I was dancing and air-conducting in front of the janitors and shelvers at the library, and I didn't care. (I can only use my headphones during the hours before we're open, so I gotta make the most of it.) I just wanted to point this out. You totally CAN dance to Beethoven...
