Music History, Post 1 - Classical Music

Choosing one music culture that has influenced me is like trying to pick one person in my life that has affected me. Sure, I can pick one, but it will give a very incomplete picture of who I am. Nevertheless, given this opportunity to single out a particular music culture, I would have to go the roots: Classical. Though it is not the music I most often listen to, I would have to say it is the most significant to me. (When I speak of classical music, I am not referring strictly to the period of music immediately following the Baroque and defined prominently by Beethoven and Mozart, but to the more general definition, which includes Romantic, Impressionistic, Baroque, etc.) The reason for this significance is twofold. First, I find music such as Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, or Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in G Minor, or Bach’s “Little Fugue” (to give a few examples) rarely rivaled in terms of power, subtlety, emotion or depth. Though popular music of today may have many good qualities, only time will tell if they will last to be appreciated and respected one-, two-, or three-hundred years from now. Secondly, because I have grown up playing classical piano, I have grown to hear most music from the perspective of a classical musician. Whether this is good or bad thing, you decide, but there is no going back. I hear music through westernized ears.
Music is such an integral part of my life. Indeed, I believe some emotions within me can only be unlocked or brought to the surface through the presence of great music. Classical music is not the only great music out there, but I believe it has laid the foundation (at least in the west, and especially for me) for great music.

P.S. - If I had more space or time to write this, I would have explained how artists such as Christopher O'Riley are good examples of how classical music has affected me. Here are some links for any and all interested:
An Interview with BBC
One of his "Classical" Covers of Radiohead