Latest news with #GoldbergVariations
New York Post
3 days ago
- Health
- New York Post
Slash your stress by 65% — and in just 8 minutes — with this dreamy fix to ‘calm your brain,' neurologist says
Take aurally. Turns out the ultimate anxiety remedy may not be in your medicine cabinet — but on Spotify. An eight-minute ambient track called 'Weightless' by British band Marconi Union is being hailed as the musical equivalent of a chill pill. 3 The track, 'Weightless' by Marconi Union (above) — cooked up with sound therapists to melt stress — actually works, according to science. Just Music The song was actually designed to de-stress listeners — and science says it works. In a study by Mindlab International, participants tasked with solving complex puzzles while wearing biometric sensors experienced a staggering 65% drop in anxiety when 'Weightless,' originally released in 2014, played. 'Unlike most songs, it was composed in collaboration with sound therapists, with the [primary] purpose of slowing down the body's stress response,' Dr. Steven Allder, consulting neurologist at Re:Cognition Health, told Parade in a recent interview. The trippy tune starts at 60 beats per minute — the average resting heart rate — and gradually slows to 50, syncing with your body's rhythm like a lullaby for your nervous system. 'This subtle deceleration encourages a process known as entrainment, where the listener's heart rate and breathing naturally begin to match the tempo of the music, a physiological shift that supports relaxation,' Allder explained. 3 It's no shock this chill track 'Weightless' has become the anthem of relaxation — no pounding beats or sob stories here, just pure ear candy for the anxious soul. Moon Safari – It's no wonder the tune has become the poster child for musical stress relief. Unlike gym bangers or heartbreak ballads, this song goes easy on your eardrums. 'Weightless also features no sharp or abrupt transitions in rhythm, tone or volume,' Allder said. 'By avoiding these fluctuations, 'Weightless' maintains a constant auditory landscape, which promotes calm and reduces mental stimulation.' In other words: It's the anti-EDM. The 'Weightless' craze joins a growing body of research showing music can do everything from sharpen focus to soften pain — if you hit the right notes. For those looking to get in the zone rather than out of their head, neuroscientist Friederike Fabritius swears by Johann Sebastian Bach's 'Goldberg Variations.' 'When I have to focus, I always listen to [that] same song and I instantly get into flow,' Fabritius told Parade in a previous interview. Her hack: train your brain to associate one tune with deep work — Pavlov, meet Spotify. 3 Trying to focus, not freak out? Brain expert Friederike Fabritius says Bach's 'Goldberg Variations' hits the sweet spot for getting in the zone. Tomasz Zajda – Classical music is a smart bet for study tunes, Dr. Erin Hannon of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, also told the outlet. She recommends tracks with 'a slow to moderate tempo, with moderately predictable pitch and rhythmic structure and lower levels of chaotic noise and dissonance, such as screaming.' Dr. Christina Agvent added in a previous study conducted by OnePoll on behalf of online university CSU Global that 'listening to music while studying can be an extremely helpful tool for some students in improving their focus,' especially among younger listeners — nearly 60% of Gen Z students say they plug in to study. And it's not just your mind that benefits. Music might also help turn down the volume on physical pain. In a recent McGill University study, participants reported lower pain levels when listening to tunes set to their own natural rhythm. So whether you're grinding through emails or gritting through aches, one thing's clear: the right beat can hit a lot harder than Advil. As Caroline Palmer of McGill put it, 'soothing or relaxing music works best as a pain reliever' — and tempo may be the secret sauce. Consider it doctor's orders: press play and chill out.
West Australian
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- West Australian
Germany's big five anniversaries in 2025
While other countries in Europe mark special occasions in 2025, Germany has noteworthy dates of its own to celebrate, with legendary talents, sights and stories coming under the spotlight. 275 YEARS SINCE THE DEATH OF BACH Decades before Mozart and Beethoven were born, there was another composer who stirred hearts and minds across Europe. That's Johann Sebastian Bach, whose tunes were the sound of the late baroque era. This year, commemorative events are taking place around Germany, including Bach festivals in the state of Thuringia, where he was raised in the town of Eisenach, and in the city of Leipzig, where he composed many of his famous works and passed away on July 28, 1750. Dresden is another focal point for the anniversary celebrations. Bach was a regular visitor to the 'Florence of the Elbe' and the landmark church, the Frauenkirche, at the heart of a city rebuilt after World War II Allied bombing, will be among the concert venues showcasing his compositions, such as the Brandenburg Concertos and Goldberg Variations. 50 YEARS OF THE FAIRY TALE ROUTE Buoyed by the success of the Romantic Road, tourism bosses conjured the Germany Fairy Tale Route, hoping it would do for the country's centre and north what the former did for the south. Winding 600km between Hanau (near Frankfurt) and Buxtehude (near Hamburg), this route is heavily driven by the lives and works of those fairytale masters, Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm. There are dozens of locations to visit en route, including chocolate-box towns and villages like Marburg and Steinau and the woodlands that characters like Hansel and Gretel would have played in. Other places you may have read about in your childhood include Hamelin, famed for its pied piper, and Bremen, where there's a statue of its animal musicians. Elsewhere, there's Sababurg Castle (the model, it's said, for Sleeping Beauty's home) and Rapunzel's Tower, which soars from the medieval fortress in Trendelburg, a town in the Diemel Valley. Throughout the Fairy Tale Route, you will find museums about the Brothers Grimm, open-air performances of their stories in the warmer months, and walking tours led by guides in period and character costumes. fact file + For more information on the anniversary events and to visit Germany, see .
New York Post
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Neuroscientist says this surprising hack can help you instantly focus — and it's not what you think
Bach to the future: Neuroscientist says a centuries-old classical tune could be the secret to crushing your to-do list. To instantly get in the zone, Friederike Fabritius, MS, author of 'The Brain-Friendly Workplace,' swears by listening to 'Goldberg Variations.' The hour-and-a-half-long 1741 classical piece by Johann Sebastian Bach has been her go-to concentration hack for decades. Advertisement 'When I have to focus, I always listen to [that] same song and I instantly get into flow,' Fabritius told Parade in a recent interview. 3 To instantly get in the zone, Friederike Fabritius, MS, author of 'The Brain-Friendly Workplace,' swears by listening to 'Goldberg Variations.' pixelrobot – 'You can actually condition your brain to get into flow and focus by always listening to the same music when you want to focus. It creates a ritual for your brain and a very strong connection.' Advertisement Fabritius' strategy is simple: play the same music every time you need to concentrate, and your brain will learn to associate those first few notes with 'time to focus.' But is Bach really the best study buddy? According to Dr. Erin Hannon, a psychology professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, classical music is a solid choice — but it's not the only option. Hannon told Parade that she recommends music with a 'slow to moderate tempo, with moderately predictable pitch and rhythmic structure and lower levels of chaotic noise and dissonance, such as screaming.' Advertisement 3 Fabritius' focus hack is a no-brainer: Hit play on the same tune every time you need to buckle down, and your brain will get the memo. Pixel-Shot – In other words, the less chaotic the tune, the easier it is to stay on task. But what works for one person might not work for another. Hannon also pointed out that music's impact on mood and focus can be different for everyone, and 'there is probably no one genre of music that can help with focus' for all of us. Advertisement A 2022 survey backs that up. According to the survey by OnePoll on behalf of CSU Global, people who listen to music while studying were more likely to have a GPA above 3.2. 'Listening to music while studying can be an extremely helpful tool for some students in improving their focus,' said Dr. Christina Agvent, program director of teaching and learning at CSU Global. 3 A study by OnePoll for CSU Global found that students who crank up the tunes while studying are more likely to hit a GPA over 3.2. Tomasz Zajda – The report also found that younger students were more likely to plug in their earbuds while studying — 58% of 18- to 25-year-olds said they listen to music while studying, compared to just 41% of those aged 58 to 76. And it's not all classical. Respondents named 'Riverside' by Agnes Obel and Drake's 'God's Plan' among their favorite study jams. For Fabritius, though, Bach's 'Goldberg Variations' is the ultimate focus anthem. Advertisement 'You should not listen to loud, busy disco or techno music,' she said. 'Classical music that's soothing and peaceful — hopefully without lyrics — supports focus rather than something that can additionally distract you.' So the next time you're struggling to concentrate, maybe forget the pop hits and give Bach a shot.
Times
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Christian Elliott obituary: Cellist who adapted E.T. score and Beatles song
Christian Elliott was more than a cellist. He was also a composer, arranger, author and polymath. Nevertheless, his musical identity centred on the cello and for the past ten years he was a member of the Zehetmair Quartet, performing from memory with them at the Wigmore Hall in London, the Edinburgh International Festival and at concert halls across Europe. Not content with playing only one cello part, during the Covid-19 lockdown he adapted works such as Bach's Goldberg Variations and Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht for multiple parts, recording himself playing each one and knitting them together electronically into a seamless performance. His arrangement of Flying Theme from John Williams's score for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial has nine cello parts, all of which he plays simultaneously in an
The Guardian
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Yunchan Lim review – young pianist's Bach dazzles and intrigues
JS Bach's Goldberg Variations is a work many pianists put on the back burner for years, waiting until they feel their interpretation has matured before showing it to the world. Not so for Yunchan Lim, who turned 21 a couple of weeks ago in between giving concerts of the Goldbergs in the US. Maturity and youth collided intriguingly in this hot-ticket performance, his first of the work in the UK. He gave us the theme simply, if also relatively weightily, emphasising a few moments of left-hand countermelody, before springing into a first variation full of zingy trills. By Variation 5, the first real allegro, he was dazzling us, the notes rattling past but with all the internal phrasing crystal clear and none of the threads tangled. That early way of spotlighting fleeting left-hand phrases became an ongoing feature – as did a degree of playful licence, with some of the repeats played up or down an octave, sounding either music-box-like or grumbly. It was a kaleidoscope, each variation taking a new colour and pattern formed from the possibilities of those that had gone before. It felt simultaneously spontaneous and impeccably thought through. But was he throwing a little too much at it? Especially in the later variations he seemed to be reminding us that he also loves playing Chopin and Rachmaninov; at times it felt as if he were signposting profundity. Lim certainly seems open to this work's myriad possibilities; perhaps he will come to let the music own its subtleties a little more. He was due back for a second performance 16 hours after this one finished – it would be fascinating to know how alike they were. It didn't really need an opener, or an encore, but we got both. First came Round and Velvety-Smooth Blend by the teenage Korean composer Hanurij Lee, in which episodes of frenetic activity punctuated passages of mesmerising stillness, beautifully achieved. And, after all that Bach, it was Liszt's Petrarch Sonnet 104 that Lim sent us out with. Frustratingly, the melody didn't always sing to the very end of each phrase, but he had so much to say that it was riveting nonetheless.
