Date: 1 November 2009
Originally published in: De keuze van Janine Jansen (book) (Netherlands)
Written by: Kim Wilde
When I was about eleven, my father, Marty Wilde, always played Elvis Presley on the record player loudly. He also played Tchaikovsky loudly. My father always said he was an atheist at heart, and that’s why Tchaikovsky and Elvis were regarded higher than God by me and my brother.
I remember how moved I was when I heard the bittersweet melodies of the Romeo and Juliet overture: I have never heard more beautiful music than this (although I have to say that Henryk Górecki, Rimski-Korsakov and Gabriel Fauré come pretty close).
A few years later I learned about Shakespeare’s story of Romeo and Juliet during the lessons English Literature, and when I connected the music to the story, I was completely sold. I always thought of images with the music I heard in my head, whatever music, but they had never been as vivid as this when I heard this phenomenal piece. In my mind I saw a beautiul sunrise, a dark and threatening sky, thunder and lightning, and a calm, new day. In my heart I felt desperation, tenderness, fear and anger, and I sensed an overwhelming insight in matters of the heart.
Tchaikovsky had the enormous talent to get directly through to the heart, so be prepared if you’re suddenly swept away by your emotions when you listen to his music… Think about my story and let yourself be drowned in admiration.
Kim Wilde (1960) is a world famous British pop singer, who is wellknown from the hits ‘Kids in America’ and ‘Anyplace, Anywhere, Anytime’.