High Fidelity — The Purpose
I am a fond fan of music listening on the stereo system. Am I trying to reach the unreachable?
In my childhood, during the day, it was expected that music to be played in my home. As I lived with my grandparents, their roots in Austro-Hungarian Empire were the cause for the music choice. Primarily it was classic and, then, contemporary jazz.
My grandfather called for me. I went downstairs. He is dressed as usual, suit and tie. Great! I am going with him to visit his company, the largest book-pressing company in Yugoslavia.
- Danijel, let’s go, we are going to the music school you will attend.
- Great, I just saw one young violinist on the morning program, Stephan Milenkovich.
We are entering the Music school in the city we lived in. What I did not know was that my grandfather used to be a principal there in the sixties. Everyone is pleasant and polite.
Next week I will start my lessons.
I do not play music anymore. I had an accident and broke my left arm. It is slower than my right one.
The sound of music is still here. I know how instruments sound. I played solo; I played in the orchestra. Dynamic, timbre, and rhythm are still here.
Today I consume a lot of music as I like and love music and know a lot about music; theory, authors, compositions, biographies, stories behind musical art creations. Of course, to have time for music listening, you have to have it in the first place. Super simple. I threw away a TV set from my house twenty years ago. I missed it a lot for ten minutes.
The musical collection in my home is vast. Enormous. CDs and vinyl.
My stereo systems are expensive. More expensive than most of the cars on the streets. My car is okay. It is robust, safe, and reliable. With 50 thousand kilometers annually, I spend a lot of time in it. I don’t remember when I last turned on the radio in the car. Music in the car distracts me.
I have to go now, turn off the computer.
My listening chair and a cup of tea are waiting.
Alone in the dark, I will listen to Chamille Thomas’ The Chopin Project. And sip a tea.
It may seem like enjoyment. It is not. It is mental work. You have to understand what the composer and musician are trying to say. Understanding that is enjoyment.
That is the purpose of high-fidelity systems.
