Over my dead body 5/10

These are the 10 songs Dr. Alan Journet of Cape Girardeau wouldn't want to live without.

1. Piano Quintet in A (D 667 ? "The Trout") -- Franz Schubert

I came to classical music firstly through the big romantics (Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Wagner and the like), then smaller classical symphonic pieces and then the ornamental baroque. It was Franz Schubert who finally brought me to chamber music. There is one section in this piece that reminds of a Keystone Cops routine.

2. "All You Need is Love" -- Lennon and McCartney

I enjoyed the Beatles from the '60s when they first became popular in Britain -- and have enjoyed many of their songs ever since -- partly out of nostalgia but also because I appreciate the tunefulness, the poetry and the sentiment.

3. "Just Another Day/Otra Dia Mas Sin Verte" -- Jon Secada

Belatedly, I first heard this when I was on study leave in Costa Rica in 1993. A cassette with this in English and Spanish became the traveling music for family and student field trips for most of seven months.

4. Brandenburg Concerto Number 5 -- Johann Sebastian Bach

It could be one of many pieces from the senior Bach, but this captures him at his melodic and innovative best; this may have been the first time the harpsichord came front and center in the solo concerto form.

5. "Un Amigo Como Tu" -- Gaviota

During the Costa Rica study leave my wife, Kathy, and I went to frequent weekend dances at the local bar/disco. This song by a Costa Rican group was frequently the romantic "last dance;" it conjures so many fond memories.

6. Clarinet Quintet in A (K. 581) -- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Again, it could have been one of many pieces by this rascal, but I selected this since it took me so much by surprise when I first heard it. In my judgment this competes for the title of "most serenely divine composition." It was also featured in the last episode of that great TV series "MASH."

7. "For Crying Out Loud" -- Meatloaf

When rock 'n' roll was in its prime, I wasn't a big fan. But "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" introduced me to Meatloaf years later. In the early '90s I finally bought his 1970s biggie "Bat Out of Hell" and fell in love with this song right away. Great music is a joy, no matter the genre. And life is not always a bed of roses.

8. Concerto for Three Violins -- Antonio Vivaldi

The works of this baroque composer always perk me up in the mornings, an important ingredient since I gave up morning caffeine. The three violins of Isaac Stern, Pinchas Zukerman and Itzhak Perlman on a vinyl recording celebrating Stern's 60th birthday lift this piece to dizzying heights of virtuoso accomplishment. For folks wondering if there is really a difference among violinists, this will answer the question.

9. "Canyon" -- Paul Winter

Over recent years I have grown to enjoy much New Age music for its natural aesthetic, its soothing tones and the tribute so much of it pays to classical music. The alto saxophone of composer arranger Paul Winter is among my favorites. Music such as this, recorded live in the Grand Canyon, helped through a long bout with leukemia.

10. Symphony Number 3 ("The Organ Symphony") -- Camille Saint Saens

I heard this first in Montreal in the early 70s, performed by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra featuring the arena organ, where the Montreal Canadiens hockey team played. If ever a symphony were written with not a note out of place, this would be it.