One of the great joys of getting to know classical music is learning to recognize how funny it can be. Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony may not seem like a particularly interesting piece the first time you hear it, but once you can appreciate the ways it subverts the conventions of classical development—the last movement razzes the recapitulation with a rogue C-sharp that refuses to go away—it takes on a hilarious new dimension. Haydn’s piano sonatas are literally the dullest thing ever until you can spot the jokes, at which point they become a delight. And if you can sit through the comic works of Mozart, Stravinsky, or Ligeti without at least cracking a smile then you’re missing the point.
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