Musical influence.  This is something that one must think about when looking at musical tastes and even musical habits.  My mother, Karen Ruth (Krueger) Brethouwer, influenced my musical tastes.  Some of my first musical memories are of laying on this thick yellow/gold thick shag carpeting (it’s still there) and hearing the sounds of an orchestra and a piano.  Although I did not know it at the time this sound was Piano Concerto #2 in c minor, opus 18 by Sergei Rachmaninoff. The pianist was Sviatoslav Richter  The sound was coming from an 8-track tape.  This 8-track is now in my possession.

My childhood was surrounded with the sounds of classical music, chamber music, and opera.  The music just didn’t exist on a superficial level.  My mom explained to me the sounds of different voices and why she preferred one over the other.  I remember her telling me about that even though several voices are spectacular and world class, one or two would have a “quality” that stood out above the others.  For my mom these voices were Luciano Pavarotti (tenor) and Joan Sutherland (soprano).  She made it clear that she wasn’t taking anything away from Placido Domingo, Richard Tucker, Mirella Freni or Renatta Tebaldi.  They were just different in her ears.

I was fortunate that these sounds stuck with me and that my mothers passion for this kind of music led her to the great opera houses of the world.  San Francisco, Chicago, New York, London, Munich.  She introduced me to live opera with Opera Colorado’s Inaugural Season.  I was also exposed to productions at the Santa Fe Opera, New York City Opera, and Luciano Pavarotti in recital at Madison Square Garden.  I didn’t like everything that I heard but learned how to listen and how to find out what I really loved and why I loved it.

My mother had an exceptional collections of recordings, books, composer busts, and opera memorabilia.  8-tracks, boxed cassettes, and CD’s.  All of these items are now in my possession and I have catalogued every item.  They now number into the thousands.  I’m proud to be the caretaker of “The Collection” and still amaze at the history that comes with these items.

I want to thank my mom for influencing my musical taste.  It has brought hundreds of hours of listening pleasure both recorded and live in performance.  It is truly the gift that keeps on giving.