“Tonight, no qualifications are required.
There is only one thing to remember,
“The fact that classical music is beautiful and enjoyable music!”

Overcoming the barricades set up by the classical music world's elite
How to Enter the World of Infinite Joy

This book is a classical lesson of courage and hospitality, offered to you by a world-class violinist who has been at the center of the most brilliant world.
After reading this book, which shatters the walls of elitism and privilege that have isolated and misunderstood classical music, you will be able to fully enjoy the inherent beauty of classical music.
We deserve to enjoy the classics.
And classical music is worth it.
Now that you've crossed the threshold of the art museum, it's time to swing open the grand, magnificent doors of the Seoul Arts Center! Readers are invited into a world of boundless joy.

My dream is that after reading this book, you won't just say, "I like classical music," but rather, "I like Beethoven," or "I like Rachmaninoff," or "I like the perfect balance and poetic sensibility of Haydn and Mozart, but I like it better when those qualities unfold in sharper, more ingenious, and harmonic dissonances, like Prokofiev in his Neoclassical period."
But don't actually say this in front of anyone unless they already hate you.
---From "Chapter 1: Classical Music? That's Nothing Special"

It is only natural that spaces with a medieval concept would use music with a Renaissance feel.
If you use real medieval music, no one will come.
Anyway, at least I won't be revisiting.
Because he would have killed himself on the way home.
---From "Chapter 1: Classical Music? That's Nothing Special"

Whatever you've taken away from what you've read so far (whether you remember the Baroque era's chronology or the definition of counterpoint or not), I hope you've remembered that classical music contains a wide variety of sounds, and that it's not necessary—and even helpful—to treat them all equally.
I hate medieval music.
Beethoven hated [Für Elise].
As I will explain later, Tchaikovsky hated Brahms.
And one teacher at Juilliard School wouldn't teach music composed after 1900.
You also have the right to hate what you hate.
It's okay to dislike some of this music, as long as it doesn't get in the way of finding music you like.
But don't stop searching for songs you like.
(But if you hate Mozart, it's probably hard for us to be friends.)
---From "Chapter 1: Classical Music? That's Nothing Special"

One day, I was in a taxi and the driver saw my violin and said that I was born with a "talent" and that I was lucky to have a job that was "always fun."
He said that he once tried to learn the violin, but it was too painful and uncomfortable to hold the instrument, and he felt that the violin shouldn't feel that way.
I wanted to show him the peeling skin on my fingertips, the calluses on my index finger where I held the bow, and the scabs that were dripping and forming on my neck where my chin rested.
I wanted to talk about the pressure of performing, the absurd yet inescapable fear of vomiting on stage, the intense self-loathing that washed over me every time my fingers slipped 0.1 millimeter from the point I had practiced.
But that wasn't the case.
Instead, I gave him a 20 percent tip.
Because in some ways it is true that I am blessed.
(Anyone who can complain about things like job satisfaction can do that.) And many musicians who have never fallen into such a dark pit of self-pity would probably agree with him.
---From "Chapter 2: Talent is Nothing Special"

As I said before, Paganini was a bad guy.
Of course I've never met him, but I'm sure he was a bad guy.
The evidence is the twenty-four caprices and six violin concertos he composed for solo violin.
His sole purpose in composing these songs was to show off that he, and no one else, could do such things: twist, multiply, and dimensionally shift his fingers.
(Everyone should play these songs today.
Because violinists are all hyperactive, competitive people who see this as a challenge.)
---From "Chapter 2: Talent is Nothing Special"

In fact, old farts have been drawn to classical music since ancient times.
They have been an essential part of the economic structure of the classical music industry since the days of Bach and Mozart, when the wealthy upper echelons of society, including kings, princes, and archdukes, employed genius musicians as employees.
(This also applies to shoemakers, cooks, and tailors, who were often geniuses in their respective fields.)
---From "Chapter 3: Beyond the Barricades of the Nobles"

In fact, classical musicians are praying to be liberated from the old farts in the classical music world for as long as they have been in power.
Mozart's dislike of his employer, Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo, is well documented in letters he sent to his father that do not center around the story of the intestinal movement.
He strongly condemned the archbishop's tyranny and stinginess, and in one letter he even wrote, "I hate the archbishop like crazy."
Bach may have felt similar feelings toward his patron, Duke Wilhelm Ernst of Saxe-Weimar.
When Bach tried to resign, the Duke imprisoned him for four weeks.
---From "Chapter 3: Beyond the Barricades of the Nobles"

So the point I'm making is, don't back down because of those old farts.
Even if the classical 'industry' is designed for them, classical music is not.
Many former veterans who have converted like me welcome you with open arms.
And those who haven't converted, those who long for the days when people were embarrassed in front of thousands because of the sound of their cell phones ringing, don't deserve the beauty that composers have given us.
Even the exciting creativity and innovation that my favorite artists are displaying right now.
It's for you.
Yes, you are right.
---From "Chapter 3: Beyond the Barricades of the Nobles"

Singers, like Australian flying squirrels, develop emotional and behavioral problems when they don't get enough attention.
My mentioning the singer now has already hurt their pride.
Compared to opera singers, violinists are like quiet meerkats, afraid of the spotlight ever since they saw their friend get electrocuted.
If violinists crave praise to confirm that their efforts are worthy of recognition, singers enjoy it like East German old men sunbathing naked.
They always seem to say, "Where are you?" no matter when they greet you or when they enter a place.
---From "Chapter 4: Conductors Are Sons of Bitches"

If the bassist is the laid-back kid who sits in the back of the classroom, the violinist is the studious kid who shows off his athletic skills on the playground and sits in the front row in the classroom.
They just want the teacher to call their names.
Because your own answer is always the best.
If a violinist were writing a cover letter for a typical job, he or she would likely list his or her strengths as sincerity, attention to detail, and a sense of purpose.
Their weaknesses might include competitiveness, egocentrism, and obsession, but they'll often express this in unfortunate phrases like, "Sometimes I'm too hard on myself."
Frankly, that statement is likely true.
---From "Chapter 4: Conductors Are Sons of Bitches"

According to countless internet posts, radio broadcasts, and newspaper articles, one of Juilliard's time-honored traditions involves hiding razor blades in the school's piano keys to break competitors' fingers and dreams.
For various reasons, Juilliard is often called the "Jailyard" of the music school world.
So, after I entered Juilliard, I used a flashlight to look at the gaps whenever I saw a piano.
---From "Chapter 6: Welcome to Juilliard Prison"

Another reason to know how to progress through the compositional format is our bladder.
If you don't know the 'type' of the song you're listening to, it's hard to predict whether you'll be able to endure it until the end.
---From "Chapter 7: What kind of format is this complicated?"

I think people who really like Ravel's [Bolero] are definitely emotionally unstable.
I don't know if these people (usually my sister's ex-boyfriends) were drawn to [Bolero] because of their inherently unstable personalities or if they listened to too much [Bolero], but if you happen to find yourself in a remote cabin one day and your companion suddenly puts this music on the record player, I suggest you tell them you're looking for firewood and run to the nearest bear den.
It's safer that way.

---From "Chapter 8: Cursed Classics"