Some pieces of music burst into life with feats of virtuosic daring; others rumble up from the bowels of the earth; some loom over you hieratically. Many beginnings are defined by some brilliant melodic gesture: Strauss’s “Don Juan,” for instance, scales the orchestra with a kind of priapic triumph.
As a miserable year comes to an end, it’s a good opportunity to think about how to begin the next. Hopefully we can take inspiration from the opening chords below.
The Best Opening Chords in Classical Music
Great beginnings for the end of a miserable year
