It has come to my attention that September is National Classical Music Month. Realizing that just about anything — and I mean anything — can become a “National Something” month/week/day, you may want to heave a heavy sigh at the idea of National Classical Music Month. While I freely admit that calling out classical music provides a perfect theme for a column, I also really enjoy listening to classical music, and say, “Hear, hear!” to NCMM.
Actually, I’m a huge fan of music, period. My play-list may shuffle from Frank Sinatra to Frederic Chopin to The Dandy Warhols, and I love that. Sometimes I just want lush, symphonic pieces; or, a cloudy afternoon may require an extended session of big band music. In other words, I’m not locked in to any particular style or genre of music. If it makes me happy or moves me in unexpected ways, it’s destined to become part of my personal music collection. Why shouldn’t Sting rock out next to Antonin Dvorak?
Below is a selection of titles with a decidedly classical bent. If classical music isn’t your thing, please don’t tune out. The library has a wide variety of music-related books, so your inner Johnny Cash or Janis Joplin can probably find something to satisfy your musical inclinations.
And did you know that the library has a children’s music CD collection that can be checked out as well as a cool online music resource called Freegal Music? The children’s music collection is selected for parents and their little ones and includes popular artists such as Raffi, Kidz Bop, the Wiggles, and song collections from studios such as Disney. Freegal Music lets you listen to music with your library card, allowing you to stream up to five hours of music per day, download up to five songs in MP3 format per week (and you get to keep them!), and enjoy two music videos per week. It’s a pretty fabulous resource, and it’s available to library card holders! Rock on!
