Artist: Ralf van Meer
Song: Valse Romantique
Composer: Claude Debussy (1890)

Over the course of the past couple of years classical music has become an increasingly favored genre of mine. When I try to get to know someone, one of my customary questions is "What kind of music do you like?" Any response will have me engaged and even more so if that person would happen to mention artists I have yet to regard. But there is one response I loathe and, quite possibly, will leave a bad impression on me from my new acquaintance.

"I like ____ , ____ , and ____ ; except classical music."

Que? Why do some individuals possess some detestation towards classical music? Did it try to rape your ears as a child?

I can understand why children and younger individuals don't welcome Classical music into their lives; because it ain't hip. It ain't rocket science. But I cannot fathom why twenty-somethings and older don't hold some value in Classical music. It's strikes me as odd.

Claude Debussy is my favorite late-Romantic era composer. Hell, last year, I took up piano lessons because of him. I attempted to learn "Clair de Lune" and have since learned everything besides the last two pages of the suite; because, like most romantic music, it is extremely intermediate. When I find the time this winter I will try my hardest to complete the song.

In my biased opinion, his impressionistic style is heavenly sublime compared to most romantic composers, such as Tchaikovsky or Chopin. Debussy can take you into another dimension with his divine technicality and could do it in simplistic methods. Valse Romantique is one of those pieces by Debussy where you'll fail at attempting to dissect the style. This waltz has delicately placed arpeggios, deep rich tones, and mimicking minor dissonances with vibrant vibrations. Ralf van Meer, an engineer that plays music as a hobby, plays a beautiful interpretation of this piece that can be a great introduction to romantic era styles.