So 2016 Didn't Suck So Much After All......

        Ahh, 2016. This year has been a memorable one, but not for good reasons. Were set to have a president with no political experience whatsoever, our political system is in the ER, Harambe died, and David Bowie died. That was a pretty solid uppercut to music's face. But maybe 2016 didn't suck so much for music after all. Here's why.
        Reason number one, record labels. Recently YouTube payed around $1B to artists, publishers and record labels. This is good news, because it means that YouTube finally is taking responsibility for its numerous copyright violations. These violations exist because any user can post anything they want. But the problem with this is even though YouTube will take down any sort of inappropriate content, they hardly ever ding any user on copyright violations. This year, that is changing, and for the better.
        Reason number two, concert sales. This year people are actually caring about concerts. Tickets sales have jumped 3.1 percent. Live nation reported that record setting ticket sales were off the charts for artist like Adele and Paul McCartney. Now this, means that the music industry is going to gain a lot more revenue. Thank you 2016.
        Reason number three, the final reason. Album releases are events again. With Beyoncé's release of Lemonade, and Drake's release of Views, Apple music and Spotify have blown up. Big time. With these new music streaming platforms, artists will be able to make extra monthly revenue off their albums, and in turn, their audience will be able to access all of their favorite artist songs.
       So, it turns out that although 2016 may have sucked big time, the music industry is now doing better than never. With record labels and concert sales generating extra revenue, and platforms like apple music and Spotify taking off, Music is better than ever before.

For most of my life, I have viewed classical music as pretty but dull. That it, however tedious at times, is a necessary byproduct of learning music. But if you ever get to hear a piece that is truly done well, is understood by the performers on an intellectual and emotional level, and is executed with passion, it will move you in ways you would never imagine. In his ted talk the transformative power of classical music, Benjamin Zander demonstrates this. Zander believes that everyone loves classical music; they just haven't realized it yet. Zander is an incredible speaker, and uses every method of persuasion to get his audience to appreciate classical music the way he does. Of these methods, it is his performance itself that is the most convincing. If you are not a fan of classical music, watch the video, maybe you will find that you love it, and as he says, you just hadn't realized it.

http://www.ted.com/talks/benjamin_zander_on_music_and_passion?language=en

Heathers: The Musical

Recently, a friend told me about Heathers: the musical and said I should watch it. After I did, I completely fell in love with it. Heathers: the musical is a very dark comedy about a geeky senior girl named Veronica who just wants to be left alone by bullies. In her high school everyone is divided and suffering from insecurities and lashing out against each other except the three most popular girls in the whole school: Heather Duke, Heather McNarma, and the “almighty” Heather Chandler. After getting the Heathers out of detention due to her craftiness, Veronica begs them to let her eat lunch with them, hoping there approval will get the rest of the school to stop picking on her. Heather Chandler decides to take Veronica under her wing and give her the gift of popularity. Later on in the show Veronica meets this mysterious new kid named JD who has his own idea about serving justice. After “accidentally’ poisoning Heather Chandler, the body count keeps rising as JD cannot control his need for revenge. I won’t tell you how it ends because I think everyone should go watch it. My favorite thing about this musical is the music. My favorite songs are the opener “beautiful,” “candy store,” and “dead girl walking.” I highly, highly recommend these songs because they are all fast paced and awesome. Also, best part about the songs is that all the main female characters are all mezzo-sopranos or altos. This is awesome because in many musicals the lead girl is a soprano, so it is nice to have a lead with a fairly low voice. If you enjoy musicals you should totally go watch this because it is basically Mean Girls, but in musical form.

Can Music Help You Study?

    Have you ever been listening to music while studying and wondered if it actually helps you study, or if it just helps you enjoy homework more? That's why I found a video answering this question made by Thomas Frank. Thomas says that there is multiple answers to this favoring each side.
    He even found a list of high energy songs for things like statistics, counting, pretty much manipulating numbers. The songs he chose were: Pomegranate Tiger   Boundless, Polymorphic Code, Metal Gear Rising Soundtrack, and Tides of Man   Young and Courageous. If you're doing something more cerebral, conceptual, or if you're trying to wrap your head around something more unfamiliar, he advised working in silence, or he suggested these calm, quiet songs: Journey   Austin Wintory, Piano Collections   Kingdom Hearts, Olaful Arnalds and Alice Sara Ott   The Chopin Project, and Theophony   Times End.
    Regarding studying in silence, Thomas said this worked at times, but others, his brain just focused on all the sounds going on around you. An interesting point he made as an example of working in silence is, its "kinda like what happens if I tell you, whatever you do, do not think about fluffy red pandas," of course then they're going to think about just that. Thomas suggested other than silence or calm music, white noise. He even came up with some sources: simply noise, Rainy Mood, and Coffitivity.
    The question is, is lyrical music okay for studying. Yes, and no. For things like Math or programming it is, but not for things with a lot of words and reading. this study, Thomas says is in line with a Stanford University prof. Clifford Ness.
     Like he stated earlier, there's diverse answers to studying with music. One study rounded up students taking an exam with silence, classical piano, and heavy metal rock. The students ended up scoring better with silence and coming in second, classical, but these genres are to the extreme. Another experiment got students to watch a lecture with no music, and one with classical. The classical music worked better for this one.
    The main  results are, that heavy and/or lyrical music is not good for words or reading, and okay for things like math. It's also could be that it does distract your brain, but raise your positivity, lower your anxiety, etc.
    I, personaly think that it mostly depends on who you are and how your brain  works. I hope this interested/helped you as much as it did me and the link is down below↓ :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5_APAxM5Lg 

2016 best hip hop albums

Best albums of 2016

2016 was full of great albums of all genres moods and tones. These ranged from Frank Ocean's beautiful R&B album Blonde to Kendrick Lamar’s funky jazz beats mixed with quick bars. Ill list the quick top 10 albums of the year  with analysis and critique, it's based purely on opinion, plus there were so many great works this year. These are not my favorite albums in order but the albums of the highest quality

10. At number 10 comes vince staples Prima Dona. Only 7 songs but not disappointing. It was full of funky an psychedelic beats, uptempo music. However some of the songs are also slowed and chopped to the point on near slo motion. Its extremely diverse producing and Vince’s vocal variation was unique.

9. At 9th comes Bas’s To High to Riot.  This album focuses in the struggle of the music industry as well as the social injustice in society and how police brutality has led to an increased riots and rebellion against authority especially in urban America. Hence the name of the album: To High To Riot. Overall it's a great work of art full of urban beats and mixed toned throughout.

8..  The group Tribe Called Quest, legendary for funky music mixed with wild rhythmic beats, credited for being one of the greatest hip hop groups of all time released their new and final album: “Thank you for you service we got it from here”.  This album purely send a message of peace, in a world of such conflict. Addressing problems in modern society like gang violence,  our president elect-e Donald Trump, and the system of urban poverty in America.

7.  A member of Kendrick lamar's record label “Top Dawg Entertainment”, Isaiah Rashad released his second studio album: The Sun’s Triade. The album is full of vocal variation, old school beats and features from great independent artists like kendrick lamar. Its old school roots mixed with modern beats gives it a ranking of number six. But that's not the only reason it's ranked here. Isaiah Rashad's relevance in the world of hip hop has skyrocketed in the last couple of years.

6. This year travis scott surprised us with his second studio album Birds in the trap sing mcknight. The album features some of the most diverse producing, and some of the best features of the year. Staring artists like kid cudi and kendrick lamar.  Songs like goosebumps show off kendricks vocal variation mixed with travis’s excellent tone mix for quite the song.

5. A grammy nominated album. A wildly successful artist. And a new style of music.  Schoolboy Q’s Blank Face LP is one of the greatest albums of the year, and one of his best solo albums of his career. Its lyrics speak of a life full of violence, police brutality, and the hard work it takes to succeed in the music world. His producing ranges from hardcore urban beats, full of consistent and intense rapping, to almost a slow R&B tone. His ability to change his voice and project it in such a firm way to go along with his music, gives him the high ranking spot.

4. Kendrick lamar is currently the most talented rapper in all of hip hop. His ability to mix the polish funky and rhythmic beats, as well as newer more bass produced music with relevant lyrics that speak of true things and the struggle of life to his audience. He unexpectedly came out with a new album Untitled and unmastered. The album has the most diverse producing and set of beats I have witnessed in a rap album. He bends the genre, including tons of  jazz, funky beats and inconsistencies that create a masterpiece of music.

3. 3001 a laced odessy.An album bya new yoork rap group known as Flatbush zombie is a 14 song album full of phycadeic, soft and quick, slowed and choped and hardcore beats mixed with increadiblt talented rhyme. These are all things pertaining to the album. It also has catchy hooks and danceable beats. It's in my opinion the best produced album of the year.

2. Coming in at number 2 is an album that tells a story. A story of a suburban street liver who struggles to support his family, and battles a life of crime while trying to raise his daughter. 4 your eyes only is the debatably the year's most anticipated album. J. cole did not disappoint . The album is filled with sadness and remorse, but also optimism. The album directly speaks to j. Coles daughter. And tell the story of his friend who had passed.

1. The years greatest hiphop/R&B album was non other than R&B artist Frank ocean's masterpiece, Blonde. Without a doubt a beautiful work of art whose lyrics tackle about every social injustice in our society as well as a look on our world from a more distant perspective. Franks chorallistic and high tone mixed with psychedelic and harmonious beats mixes for the year's most anticipated album, and the year's best.

How music invokes emotion

I watch a lot of TV. I can honestly say that I watch 1-2 hours every day. And one day, I saw a commercial that I absolutely fell in love with.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CwvU6ylGgk

There is nothing very special about this commercial, it's for Amazon Prime. So why do I like it so much? I puzzled over this in my head, never really understanding why I kept singing it in the shower and humming the words. It took a while for me to figure out that the reason I was so obsessed with this commercial was because of the song they used in the background. The song just makes me connect with the commercial, and I just want to watch it over and over again.

That's what music does. Music, songs, and melodies, just make you tap into the emotions displayed at the moment. It's why, even if you are driving to school to take the most possibly hardest and most stressful test ever in your life, you can still have a dance party in the car with your rock music. Music, somehow, makes you forget about everything and live in the moment in a way that few other things can do. There is something amazing about humming along with the melody that impacts you and makes you really feel the mood of the music. How? No one really knows.

Blond

Frank Ocean dropped his long awaited album to the millions of R&B, hip-hop, and pop fans that are drawn to his music. His unique sound allows people interested in different genres to expand their perspective and music taste. With only 17 songs, Frank Ocean has redesigned his approach to making music, giving us an album full of diverse and distinctive sound. I am a huge fan of Frank Ocean, and many other R&B, hip-hop, and pop artists, and I can confidently say this is my favorite album to come out all year. My favorite song on this album, Pink + White combines unique music and beats, as well as the calming vocals push this song to the top of my list. The lyrics in this and many other of his songs, are open to interpretation based on personal experiences. His lyrics challenge both society and us as people. His music is both calming and interesting to listen to. I highly suggest checking it out. :)

Rock Music Affects on Men

      http://thescienceexplorer.com/brain-and-body/men-should-avoid-rock-music-when-playing-board-games-say-scientists


         I read an article about different types of music and how they affect men when playing board games.The article is at the top if you'd like to read it. In the article it said they had men and women do the game operation and playing three different songs; Andante from Sonata for two pianos by Mozart, Thunderstruck by AC/DC, and the sound of an operating theatre. They tested how long it took you to complete the game and how many mistakes you made. Men seemed to make more mistakes and take longer during Thunderstruck while women weren't affected by Rock music at all. Scientists were not completely sure why the rock music affected the men, but they guessed it was probably created more stress caused by the loud rock music. They also found Mozart decreased number of mistakes made. There have been other types of tests such as this one and they have found that Hip Hop or Jamaican music increase operating speed and other things like this.
        I really thought it was cool to see all these different ways music can affect us in things as simple as a game of operation. I honestly wasn’t very surprised that Rock music affected men that way because if I had loud rock music it would make me feel stressed. What I was surprised about was that it only affected men and women seem to perform the same no matter what music is playing. I am curious what other types of music might affect people doing simple things and if it affected men and women or just onerous the other. All in all I really enjoyed reading and learning more about this.

Some Songs Require Amazing Singers

II love singing. Not only that, I love watching and listening to amazing singers.

Some songs require large amounts of work to sing it perfectly to make the audience

Cry.  Anyways, one of my favorite musicals, Les MIserables, has many songs that

Require lots of work and the end result is an amazing song that makes the audience

Clap forever.  One song in particular, Bring Him Home, is a song that has to be sung

Beautifully and gently. The best version of this song( in my opinion) is the 25th Anniversary concert in 2010. In this version, the song is sung by Alfie Boe. His voice has been amazing throughout the show, but this is his star moment.  I think you will be amazed after watching the video clip from the actual show.

Be AMAZED!!!

La La Land

La La Land starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling is the highly anticipated movie musical of the 2016 holiday season. It is the story of Mia (Emma Stone), an aspiring actress, and Sebastian, a dedicated Jazz musician struggling to make ends meet while pursuing their dreams in a city known for destroying hopes and breaking hearts. With modern day Los Angeles as the backdrop, this musical about everyday life explores what is more important: a once-in-a-lifetime love or the spotlight.

According director David Chazelle the idea was to take the old musical style and ground it in real life where things don't always work out. However, at the same time he wanted to pay tribute to the ones who dream as foolish as they may seem.

On top of this, the film was shot in CinemaScope. CinemaScope is a lens system that was primarily used to film widescreen movies from 1953 to 1967. Chazelle additionally tried to film most of the scenes in single takes to pays tribute to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. This project pays homage to the musicals of Hollywood's golden age such as Singing in the Rain, The Band Wagon and 1950's movie musicals in general. The result of all of these creative choices is a movie that has contemporary characters and themes while having the atmosphere of a musical from Hollywood’s golden age. As someone who loves the old movie musicals, I have been waiting for this movie ever since I stumbled across it a few years ago while I was going through different movie blogs on a lazy Saturday and I can’t wait to see it. What are your thoughts about the new connection to the past?

Fun Fact: Emma Watson and Miles Teller were originally set to star in the project until Teller dropped and Watson left to star in the new live action Beauty and the Beast. Personally, I couldn't imagine anyone other than Stone and Gosling in the roles. Who would you've liked to see in the roles?

Lady Gaga Sound of Music Performance

I chose this video because I think it’s really nice to see famous singers go outside of their usual genres. In my opinion a lot of the music on the radio today doesn’t show singers talent or challenge them. So much of our music today is so heavily autotuned that most singers don’t have to have great vocal talent. So to hear Lady Gaga, who has sung her fair share of pop music, can sing a true song like this one, without autotuning. I have respect for Lady Gaga because of this performance as well as others like things I have seen that she has done.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L81mhwzroqU 

Sweet Caroline

SWEET CAROLINE

Most people do not associate sports with music. Music and sports are generally kept separate and viewed as two totally different things. I have been an avid fan of sports for the majority of my life. Since the age of 5, I have also been a avid follower of baseball, specifically the Boston Red Soxs. I consistently watch most of their games. Baseball is truly my passion and watching these games are sacred to me. I had thought I had known everything about their games and about the team's traditions in general.

Since I have joined choir, during their games I have noticed one more thing. The song Sweet Caroline, which is played every game before the bottom of the 8th inning. When I first truly noticed the song this past September it took me by surprise. After all the rap and hip hop during the game this nice sweet song comes on. It honestly blew me away. I had known the words to this song from before and loudly sang along. I would have never thought that music could truly enhance my experience of sports. It was amazing since this song from the late 60's, the type of music I rarely listen to, influenced me so much. During every game these days, I get up off the sofa and start singing the lyrics loudly.

This post may seem like a personal thing and somewhat overly sentimental but there truly is a deeper meaning behind it which is important. I didn't think Choir could have been that impactful on my life but it truly has been an impactful experience. I have a greater appreciation for music now and it has added to my love of sports. It has also taught me a lesson about trying new things. I never thought singing was for me until I joined the class. That truly is a valuable lesson. And although the season is over every Red Sox game was much more interesting with that song.

HERE IS SOME HISTORY BEHIND SWEET CAROLINE BEING PLAYED AT RED SOX GAME:

http://981thehawk.com/why-is-sweet-caroline-the-boston-red-sox-theme-song/

Characteristics of a Great Choir Member

Being a team player- Whether you are a soprano, alto or mezzo, as a member of a group it is your job to be a team player. This means that you make an effort to know your part and sing to the best of your abilities. Coming to class or rehearsal prepared is key because you are an important component of the overall effect. The best groups are the ones who sound like one voice. When particular voices stand out more than others it can create an imbalanced sound.

Passion for the music- Most importantly, one must have passion for music. The overall sound of a choir can be effected when there is a lack of energy behind the piece. Passion and emotion are what bring the music to life. The choirs energy is contagious so it is important to make sure that it is positive. As oversaid as this many be—when the performers have fun, the audience has fun as well. An audience can tell when a choir is not enjoying a piece. Having energy is what makes the piece energetic.

WATCH THIS (go to 2:20): “Christmas is Now” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUHcoAYJWx0

So this is a sillier post, but I think this video is really hilarious so I felt the need to share it. I was watching The Late Show with my Dad earlier this week, and a segment came on about how so much Christmas music has been recorded at this point that there really aren’t many options for artists to make original lyrics. Also, the host Colbert noted that Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmas Time has been voted by many people as the worst holiday song ever. I think it’s kinda pleasant.. I did some research and found some way worse.

Three Songs Way Worse:

-“Have a Cheeky Christmas” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aoTjDhH2nM

-“No Presents for Christmas” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a5fHMlb4V0

-The Christmas Shoes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJcPVB-we7g

*feel free to comment more terrible songs…

Caroling

I have often wondered why you see Christmas carolers in movies and in books, but rarely in our day to day lives during the holidays. I found an article from Time magazine that explains a brief history of common caroling songs and when and why it became less popular. Most caroling songs were based on medieval songs, and caroling actually did not have anything to do with Christmas. The medieval carols did not relate to Christmas, but new, modern songs generally related to the holiday. The tradition of caroling came from wishing your neighbor’s good fortune. It came from the English word wassail, and a popular song that carolers sang was “Here We Come a-Wassailing” which evolved into “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” Eventually church caroling mixed with Christian folk songs, and was common during May Day festivals. Caroling as a Christmas tradition did not become popular until the 19th century, when Christmas was becoming commercialized. Caroling continued to be popular until the 1960s. Carolers and the people that they would sing to were usually similar culturally, so when the US was becoming more diverse in the 60s, people gradually stopped caroling outside of people’s homes, and did so in public instead.

The Theremin

There are many instrument types and families, from woodwinds and strings to brass and percussion. Many of the instruments in these families are ones we are at least peripherally aware of, invented long ago and slowly improved over time. These instruments have little more to them then the physics-based technology that was available to their inventors, so long ago. Since the development of electronic technology, strange new instruments have been invented as entrepreneurs test the waters with electronic additions to old instruments or entirely new ones. The theremin is one such instrument. Invented in 1920, the theremin is an instrument you do not touch. Instead, two antennae sense the position of the musician's hands and the theremin has pieces that oscillate in response.  One antenna, parallel to the floor and loop-shaped, is used to control the volume. The other, straight and perpendicular to the floor,  the pitch. The oscillations must be projected through an amplifier to produce sound. Though the theremin is seldom used, it has been heard in movie and television soundtracks and made a niche for itself as an instrument to use for eerie situations. The sound itself is full of vibrato, as can be expected from vibration-based instrument. It sounds almost like someone is humming very loudly. Here's an example:

Theremin - Over The Rainbow 

A Pentatonix Christmas

   

 The Pentatonix are a great accapella group that started in 2011 and originated in Texas. I chose to do a blog post on this song because it shows the kind of Christmas that I have almost every year. I am catholic and on Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus and that's what this song is all about. This song talks about Jesus’s birth and how they're telling Mary, Jesus’s mother, all the miracles that her son is going to accomplish.

    I think that Pentatonix did absolutely amazing singing this song and if I had to grade them I would them a 10 out of 10. I love how they sung the whole song in that cave and with candles in their hands that definitely give off a holiday spirit.

I'm always surprised when I hear them sing because they create such a great strong sound even though they're a small group and they also have emotional expressions every time they sing. Overall I love this song so much and I hope others enjoy it too. Click Here to watch.

More Awesome Female Musicians!!

Here are some bios of awesome women in music history because composing and performing were considered mostly the job of men for too long in history and I think women should get more recognition for their accomplishments in music. The list of composers we chose from for our final projects is mostly men so that’s kind of what prompted me to want to shed some light on amazing female musicians.

• Pat Benatar(1953- ) was classically trained as a Coloratura soprano. She sang solos at her elementary school christmas performances, participated in musical theatre in middle and high school, and was actively making music from the age of 5. Most of us, however, know her from her rock music like “Hit Me with Your Best Shot”, and “Heartbreaker” from the 70’s and 80’s. She did mostly classical vocal music with her teacher, but her teacher suggested that, with her powerful voice, she should go into rock and roll. And so she did. And she was really successful and talented.
• Hildegard von Bingen(1098-1179) lived in an abbey in the Holy Roman Empire/Germany from the age of 13, at which point in a woman’s life, if she was not married yet, she was considered useless and was cast off by her family. She was a poet, philosopher, Christian mystic, had frequent ‘visions’, and is considered to be the founder of German natural history. The current Pope at that time heard about her ‘visions’ and instructed her, personally, to record everything about them, as they were believed to be messages from God. She also literally created her own language which she used to write in for mystic purposes. Three or four years ago, PCS women’s choir sang a 3 part arrangement of a gregorian chant she wrote called O Frondens Virga. It is recorded that she apparently would sit in a small room all day with only one small window, and wished not to be disturbed while she cranked out music and poetry like nobody’s business. Also she is formally considered a Saint by the Roman Catholic Church which kind of a big deal.
• Clara Schumann(1819-1896) - Okay she’s not not well-known but she doesn’t get enough credit for what she did for music at that moment in history. Her more famous husband Robert Schumann was also a great composer… but we don’t need to talk about him because he’s just not as cool. From an early age, Clara’s schedule was filled with music training, as organized by her father who was a music teacher. Her education included lessons for piano, violin, singing, theory, harmony, composition, and counterpoint. She was a true prodigy and a master of memorization. Clara set a precedent in her career for the rest of music history that pianists must memorize their music for performances. It makes performance more emotional because the pianist doesn’t get to rely on sight-reading. This is just kind of seen as a standard thing in music now that pianists all know about, but it’s not acknowledged enough that she is the reason for this!

If anyone else wants to research some other awesome women in music history, I’d love to see comments!

Music Tastes

I have always been interested in the types of music people like. Sometimes it is something you expect, but sometimes it’s completely different from how they seem on the outside. Personally, my music taste has drastically evolved over the years. I used to only listen to the CDs my aunt gave me (mainly very twangy country), then I went to only listening to Top 40 (because I wanted to seem cool), but now, I don’t really know what type of music I’m into. I do still listen to some country and some Top 40, but I also listen to rap, R&B, alternative, and many more that are synthesized and auto-tuned. I remember, when I was younger, I hated synthesized songs with a passion. It’s the furthest thing from country. But when I got into Top 40 (at that time it was still Hey There Delilah and early ‘00s iconic songs) I started incorporating it more into my music taste. I still don’t really know why my music taste has changed so much, but I’m glad I’m more open about the types of music I listen to and that I haven’t kept myself in a musical bubble. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find out you like folk more than Top 40, or rap more than country. Even though something might be way out of your comfort zone, you might actually like it.

Cool female musicians in history:Maria Yudina

Marie Yudina was a badass, Russian, Stalin-butt-kicking, pianist who I think everyone needs to know about because she was awesome. She was born to a Jewish family in the Russian Empire in 1899 and lived to be 71 years old, dying in 1970 in Moscow. Here are just a few cool stories about her life.

She studied to be a pianist in college at Petrograd Conservatory where Shostakovich, a famous Russian composer, was one of her peers(whaaaaat??). She was invited to teach there after graduation and did until 1930, at which point she was kicked out for expressing her religious views and speaking publicly against Soviet leadership, which ~by the way~ was punishable by law but she didn’t care(because she’s a badass).

After that, she was homeless for a few years but her luck turned around. Yudina was hired to teach at various music conservatories for piano graduate study, chamber ensemble, and vocal classes. But then she got kicked out of some other places AGAIN because she was a public supporter of Western music which was a big no-no because the Soviet Russia hated Western society(but she didn’t conform because she was a strong independant woman with her own thoughts and opinions and wasn’t afraid to express them).

After being banned from most of the music community in almost the entirety of Russia, she continued to perform publicly even though recording of her concerts was banned.

At one of her concerts, she read some poetry that people didn’t like and she was banned from performing ANYTHING AT ALL for the next five years! Just over some poetry!  Once the ban was lifted, she was hired at the Moscow Conservatory again and gave lectures on Romanticism.

AND THE COOLEST FACT OF ALL: Stalin(the Soviet Russian leader) LOVED her playing. Once, Stalin was listening to the radio and heard a performance of her playing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 and he loved it so much that he just had to have a copy of it. Soooooo government officials went Russian rushing(haha puns) to Yudina's house, woke her up and immediately brought her to a recording studio where they had quickly organized a small orchestra, and had her perform with them, making a recorded copy of it FOR STALIN…. Like at his pERSONAL REQUEST! Meanwhile, she still hated his guts and his whole regime, but she still recieved the Stalin Prize(a huge honor btw, kinda like the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the U.S.), and she donated all of the money portion of the prize to the Orthodox Church(a major enemy of the Soviet government) “for perpetual prayers for Stalin's sins".

WHAAAAATTTTT??!??!?

She literally would not listen to him and was just really sassy and she was frickin amazing and everyone should know that she existed so I’m glad I could educate y'all. Just look at her. That is the face of a woman who does what she wants, when she wants, and won't let anyone stop her.