Musical Interpretation

I am not a musician myself but just a great lover of classical music. I do have a tendency to 'get hooked' on various pieces of music and find myself listening to certain pieces over and over to try and get a better angle on them. I keep re-playing these pieces over in my mind and wind up re-arranging the music to better suit my own tastes. E.g., lately I have been re-arranging the last movement of Brahms' 4th symphony. It turns out there is a pre-defined way that I want (need?) this piece performed and what's kind of neat is that I can imagine it being played this way if I know the music well enough, i.e., 'note for note'. I have found myself doing this with several other pieces of music that I am very familiar with (my favorites, I presume). The only restriction to doing this is that I must be very familiar with the music, i.e., I must listen to it so often that I can replay it back in my mind from end-to-end. At that point I just naturally begin to re-arrange the way I want it to sound in my 'ideal form'.

Having realized the above, I am wondering if there are any musicians or conductors out there who could share with us how they decide to play or interpret a piece of music? Is it similar to above or are there other (undoubtedly better) methods for studying a piece in order to understand it's meaning? E.g., does it help to read music and memorize from a score vs. listening only? Finally, I would like to know if there are some pieces of music that are generally regarded as more challenging than others in this regard, i.e., more difficult to interpret/translate for the listener (or musician for that matter)?

I would like to add that I never hear my favorite pieces performed exactly the way I have imagine them, although some have come close. In fact, in the case of the aforementioned Brahms, I actually started out being ambivalent about the piece (definitely not love at first sight). Often I hear a piece performed in a way that is completely different from the way I imagine (desire) which can be very interesting (if I'm in the right mood) but can also be repulsive (if I'm not). Any recommendations for favorite conductors or performers in this regard would be greatly appreciated. Please articulate if you can exactly what it is you like about said performance or conductor (this is most difficult for me to describe in

Do you know of any amateur orchestras nearby? It's possible they'd let you come to a rehearsal and try out a (short) piece, and you might find you're good at conducting. To get serious you'd need to learn to read and 'hear' a score with facility, but that will come with practice.

Start your life again, as a music major! You can do it!

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This is how I play. I imagine in my mind how I want it to sound, then work hard to make it translate into the physical universe. If I'm not happy with the way I'm playing something, I fix it. So for the most part, my playing reflects my true wishes, but sometimes my fingers get in the way of true expression. }