My Most Influential Albums #5
CLASSICAL HITS: THE BEST MUSIC FROM TODAYS SUPERSTARS
Album #5 of 12 formational albums, which is a classical mix album 🤦🏼♀️🥴😝 called Classical Hits: the Best Music from Today’s Superstars (2001). So embarrassing that one of my most influential albums is a compilation album, but until that time, I didn’t really actually own a classical album that I really listened to as my own. Also, at that time recordings of the music I was studying weren’t actually that easy to come by. I listened to this album so much I had to buy it again because it stopped working.
This album was a gift to me by dad, which I’m pretty sure we got it at the Barnes & Noble near Santa Clara on one of their first soccer weekend visits on a whim my freshman year. This album actually became my go to college study and pre-game album for 2 or more years. And remember, this was pre-even first generation iPod, so I listened to it on my Walkman portable CD player 😂😂😂.
On it, I was introduced to the music of YoYo Ma and Mark O’Conner and Edgar Meyer in their recording of Appalachia Waltz. These three musicians have heavily influenced my music in that they all do cross genre work. Classical fundamentals with all sorts of wild things, genres, styles. I think that really inspired me because I never felt at home in one genre, I still don’t. It made me feel like I could do what I wanted, even though I was a classical student. I like the creative process itself and seeing where the music leads, outside of genre.
On this album I also fell in love with Sara Brightman and her recording of Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again, and it was my go to audition piece for musical theater at the time.
On this album I also fell in love with film soundtracks. There were pieces from the Gladiator and from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Which I bought both those albums, and anyone who knows me know I have secret love of film scores/albums and in my 20s they made up about half my albums.
It started with this little comp album.