Jump-starting us retirees, or, That Joe Hadyn sure was one hyped-up guy!

So it’s a bit after six in the morning, I’m brewing coffee, reading the NY Times and writing up my day’s “to-do” list. When I get to a dozen entries, my head starts to spin. Which one do I start on first? But wait — I’m retired! No deadlines! Well, forget that. I’m so busy in my so-called “retirement” that I’m more beat at the end of a day than if I’d been grinding out cover stories for the good old Free Press.Getting started in the morning is a big deal. Coffee’s not doing it. Caffeine probably stresses me. I need a strong countervailing force here. But I know what to do.Head for the CD player. Choice of music is critical. You want to jump-start the day, don’t play dirges. Know what I mean?Something constantly upbeat, imbued with heavy doses of musical energy, that’s what I need. Man, that will get me moving.Here’s what I’m spinning these days: First, Franz Josef Haydn’s piano sonatas. My CD is called “Haydn: Klaviersonaten Nr. 32, 47, 53 & 59” and it has Emmanuel Ax playing on a Sony disc, SK 53 635. Solo piano, great melodies and always upbeat. No adagios, please!The Haydn gets me moving away from the Paul Krugman column in the Times and all that depressing world news and straight into my own writing. Key words: “Allegro,” “presto.” Quick melodies that make you want to dance.Why, the middle movement is marked “Menuet.”Once I’m in the swing of whacking away at writing, I need a change of pace. Musicians call this “modulation,” I believe. Fancy way of saying “transition.” What I do, see, is modulate from Papa Joe Haydn to Grampa Bach. Good rousing Bachian organ music really gets me stirred up. My favorite CD for this is “The Biggs Bach Book,” with organist E. Power Biggs at the keyboard on a CD by CBS Records, MK 30539. Nothing beats Bach, but he has his match in Georgie Boy Haendel, so once I’m working really hard, nobody around except Patti the dog, I crank the volume up and spin my way into a three-disc set called “Handel: Complete Organ Concertos” recorded by the English Concert directed by Trevor Pinnock with Simon Preston on the organ and Ursula Hollinger playing harp. It’s an Archiv set, Digital Stereo 289 469 358-2 and it will keep you hopping for all of 199 minutes.By the time Papa Joe and Grampa Johann and Uncle Georgie have spun their course, it’s time for lunch. Maybe a snooze. I am retired, you know.I’ve actually been playing this same line-up for weeks, and it’s nearly time for a change. I’ll let you know the new list when I’ve thoroughly lab-tested it.In the meantime, need some get-up-and-go? Try Papa Joe!