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They say that music is a universal language, and for me it makes sense. It can unite people from completely different countries and cultures. I understood this very personally. You see, my grandparents immigrated to America from Norway. And every time I hear the music of Edvard Grieg, the great Norwegian composer, it's " Morning Mood," I remember how long ago, before recorded music, when the capital of Norway, Oslo, was named after the Danish king, Christiania, the Norwegians were tired of living under the rule of their big, bully neighbors, Denmark and Sweden. Norway's cultural heroes gathered in Bergen, as far away from Sweden and Denmark as possible, in the beautiful country of fjords. Why? To create literature, art and music
as dreamy as this one, inspired by the beauty of their fjords and pride in their Norwegian way of life. Great. Julie, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to tell a story from the bench. Thank you. I will never forget an episode from my childhood. I was probably 10 years old, and Uncle Thor from Norway came to visit my family in Seattle. It was a big deal. And my mom said, "Hey, Rick, play that piece you're learning from that Norwegian composer." So I faithfully played Wedding Day in Trollhaugen. And Uncle Thor was so happy that his little nephew was playing a piece from his beloved Norway that he pulled out a crisp 20 -dollar bill and gave it to me. I don't think I've ever seen so much money at one time, let alone, looking back, I think an even greater
gift that Thor gave me was that he planted the seed of a very important idea. Actually, the idea that inspires this particular program. Thor demonstrated the joy that two cultures derive from sharing and appreciating each other's music. Or maybe he was just bribing me to stop playing. I'm not sure. Well, that's my Norwegian story. But, of course, people in every country are proud of the music of their homeland. If Uncle Thor turned things around when I visited him in Norway, he might play some American gymnastics for me. Ragtime was a precursor to jazz and, like jazz, has roots in the culture and dance of black Americans. It was " Maple Leaf Rag" by Scott Joplin. It was very popular, as was ragtime in America, around the same year that Grieg wrote
Wedding Day at Trollhaugen in Norway. Come to think of it, I would have loved to hear my Norwegian uncle Thor play me some good old American ragtime. Yes, music brings great joy to anyone who is proud of their homeland. And those who can take this wonderful, albeit ethnocentric, musical emotion with them on the road can derive even more joy from celebrating and appreciating the wonderful music of other cultures. Happy musical journeys.
