Wednesday, September 5, 2012

September Prompt - Classics Challenge

I read Anna Karenina last month, and for the September Prompt of the Classics Challenge is to select a piece of music that reflects the book.
   I cheated a bit. I first thought that the music would have to be classical, because of the period in which the story was set. Then I thought maybe an opera piece would be perfect, because they went to the opera a couple of times in the novel. But instead, I looked up the soundtrack for the 1997 Anna Karenina movie on Wikipedia.



   That article gave me the perfect piece, which I immediately downloaded on iTunes: Tchaikovshy's Symphony No. 6, "Pathetique". It contains several movements, some with manic allegros reflecting Anna's mood, and then really dark periods of exaggerated tragedy. It's also really long!
   Here's a version from YouTube:



4 comments:

  1. I agree! Anna was definitely subject to mood swings, from despondent to lively to manic to resigned to desperate.

    Good choice for this dark, tempestuous story.

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  2. it if hadn't been for a read along i participated in, i wouldn't have read Anna Karenina last July.

    this music indeed suits Anna's mood and temper and the book itself. thanks for sharing.

    here's mine:
    A Classics Challenge - September prompt

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  3. It sounds the perfect choice for Anna.

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  4. I've only listened to the first five minutes so far, hadn't heard this piece of Tchaikovsky before. It seems to suit Anna Karenina very well-- haven't read the book yet but I've seen the 2000 adaptation with Helen McCroy.

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