In a world increasingly shaped by demands for speed, efficiency and constant improvement, classical music can offer a different kind of escape, according to a recent Guardian opinion column by critic and writer Joseph Earp.
Earp describes becoming increasingly drawn to classical composition as a response to what he sees as an exhausting culture of optimisation. He points to the growing pressure to make work, sleep, exercise and even relaxation more efficient, arguing that the pursuit of improvement can leave little room for simply experiencing life.
His own retreat has been through music, with composers including Morton Feldman, Steve Reich and Gustav Mahler becoming part of his everyday listening. Rather than treating older works as relics of another era, Earp says they can reveal emotions and experiences that remain recognisable across generations.
He also reflects on attending an Australian Chamber Orchestra performance of works by Alfred Schnittke. For Earp, the music offered a connection with the composer’s struggles and uncertainties despite the distance between their lives and circumstances.
Jean Sibelius’s Fifth Symphony becomes the clearest example. Earp focuses on its famous third-movement passage associated with birds taking flight, describing the experience as a reminder that people remain capable of finding wonder in the natural world regardless of technological change.
The column ultimately presents classical music as more than an escape into the past. For Earp, it provides a way to reconnect with emotions and experiences that technology cannot easily optimise or replace.
The Guardian piece is an opinion column and reflects Earp’s personal interpretation of music, technology and modern life rather than a scientific study of the effects of classical music.
Source: The Guardian
