One of my favorite pieces of music of all time is Judy Garland's rendition of Over the Rainbow in the opening scenes of The Wizard of Oz. Come to think of it, The Wizard of Oz is probably my favorite movie of all time.
"Birds fly over the rainbow; why, oh why, can't I?" Nobody ever put hopes and dreams and longing into music better, and whether we're dreaming of a better world, relief from pain, or just hoping that tomorrow will be better than today, there is something powerful about tying that longing to a rainbow. It's not an accident that the LGBT movement has taken on the rainbow as its iconic symbol. Because it embraces diversity - we just want to stop being excluded - and because, more simply, because its beauty is uplifting.
I've been on a serious Chopin kick for the past couple of years, as well as going all out as a follower of that young piano genius from Korea, Lim Yunchan. I've followed a couple dozen pianists' careers, but nothing has blown me out of the water like Yunchan's superhuman talent has.
If you've missed the link I'm trying to make, here it is: One of Chopin's most notable pieces is his Fantasie Impromptu in C-sharp Minor (Opus 66). All sorts of famous pianists have made memorable recordings of it: Artur Rubenstein, Daniil Trifonov, Sviatoslav Richter, and Evgeny Kissin, to name just a few.
There is a melody in the Fantasy that became a popular song called I'm Always Chasing Rainbows. Judy Garland picked it up in 1940, the year I was born, and now had two memorable songs to her credit about rainbows.
Two different genres, both inspiring.
Here's a version of it by a guy who picks the Chopin version apart and explains why it's such a difficult piece to learn. I sat through it this morning and appreciated the close look at the piece.
I then went to a version by Yunchan.
Performed when he was nine years old.
So there.
