Last Friday, Maestro Mariss Jansons’s last live recording was released. It was a concert at Carnegie Hall; works by Strauss and Brahms were performed.

It’s been 11 months since you passed away, Maestro.

Maestro Jansons was the one who piqued my interest in classical music. That was the Neujahrskonzert in 2012. Till now, it is still my favourite one. I can still clearly replay in my mind how he played the anvil in “Feuerfest”, and how he funnily ended “Tik-Tak” with the alarm clock. Needless to mention my favourite polka, “Unter Donner Und Blitz”.

It was his Neujahrskonzert that helped me to kickstart. I’m not good at describing music; but his style of conducting, as well as his interpretation of works by composers like Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky, consistently helped me develop my interest in classical music. I am still a newbie now, but I feel that classical music has become part of my life. Appreciating classical music has become one of the enjoyable things I do every day. Music is the cure.

… So, thank you, Maestro Jansons.

May you rest in peace.

Maestro Jansons in 2015
Maestro Jansons in 2015
Photo by Franz Johann Morgenbesser
Used under CC BY-SA 2.0