-
Triple axels and the piano
A few years ago, a composer who was writing a piece for me commented at one of our rehearsals that he wanted the audience to breathe the same collective “Aah!” at the end of the work as they do when a figure skater lands a flawless triple axel. We were in the middle of the…
-
Music makes you smarter – or maybe not
Twenty years ago, the press had a field day with a small study published by a California researcher, much to the surprise of the author. The public’s imagination was caught by headlines that proclaimed “Listening to Mozart Makes You Smarter,” or “Music Makes You Smart.” An entire industry grew from the idea that listening to…