15/07/2025
♥️♥️♥️♥️
I recently had the privilege of interrupting a pianist rehearsing a performance of the 3rd movement of Beethoven’s piano concerto No. 3, one of my favourite compositions and one that I could never attempt to play myself. It was lovely to see it executed with such effortless grace and to have the chance to discuss subtle differences in phrasing and interpretation. The challenge for such an accomplished pianist is about trying to get inside Beethoven’s head to understand as closely as possible what he wanted us to hear. Of course, one cannot ever hear the original thing, the premier performance made from rough sketch notes before he even had time to write down the first version of the piano score.
I could not help wondering how Beethoven would have reacted, being told that people would still be so passionate about trying to get as close to his internal feelings as possible, some 220 years after the premiere performance… Such is the astonishing power of true art to transcend both space and time. This thought becomes even more appealing given that Beethoven was a true Indie artist (widely considered to have been the first one) and that the passion to be heard must have been so strong.
As an aside, I have read that Beethoven did not want to be an Indie music composer initially. He wanted to be tied to a record label. Well, okay, not a record label but a royal court or the house of a prominent noble family just as his teacher had been, but it amounts to the same thing. He lived in turbulent times and such deals were hard to come by, so he pushed his own music, paid for publication, funded concerts from his own pocket, did anything he could to get his music heard. Of course, being independent allowed him 100% creative freedom and thank heavens for that. That all sounds so familiar - plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
But I digress. We are fortunate nowadays that indie artists don’t have to rely on manuscripts, memory and subtle interpretations for us to experience what they themselves heard in their own heads. We can directly access what they want us to hear in glorious detail and experience their creativity so simply and directly. Our favourite such experiences this week are, of course, compiled into another lovingly curated edition of “Indie Music From The Top Shelf” from Whiskey’n’Whiskers. One of our picks has been featured before, one year ago today to be precise, because each week we re-visit this playlist from a year ago to choose the song that still resonates the most. This week’s ‘Timeless Classic’ is the ethereally powerful masterpiece, “The Harrowing Mystery of Love, Loss, and Sublime Bonds” from Windigo Drifter, (now re-mastered). It returns to the playlist along with newly featured songs from these amazing artists.
🥃 Cul De Sac Kings
🐈 thanks mom
🥃 Ric Gordon
🐈 JoDan Music
🥃 Yatesy
🐈 Behind the Beach House
🥃 Oliver Twitter, Sirius Blueray
🐈 Feral Housecats
🥃 The Lillypillies
🐈 Wayne W. Hacker
🥃 Spidersuit
🐈 Jackie K MUSIC
🥃 Ghost of Rucker 的幽灵拉克
Thank you to these artists for keeping the spirit of independent artistry vital with their music. Please do listen to the playlist, support all of the artists, maybe find some new favourites and, most of all, enjoy the music ❤️
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