BEST SCORES OF 2008

I agree with you on this beyond question, and my purpose with that example was only an attempt to confirm the existance of an extramusical contribution to a musical appreciation, not to claim that such a contribution was neccessarily vital. Also, I selected the cadenza of Mozart's 27th because it was the easiest thing to describe that came to mind at the time of writing. A close study of the traditional concerto form and Mozart's treatment of it throughout his catalogue opens up an entire world of methods far more elaborate than the example I presented here, in order to condition, prepare, and most importantly, break expectations. However, my assertion (like yours I think) is that while such elements certainly do contribute (to an appreciation) as a means of stimulating or increasing musical interest - they are, in their own right, non-vital "curiosities" compared to the actual musical content itself.

But perhaps the question lies more in defining the actual importance of such a "stimulation of interest". Listeners are by nature often impatient and quickly lose interest. They (including myself, naturally) often struggle to maintain interest when exploring unknown composers, styles, or individual works. In these cases (which relates to the question Demetris posed), a knowledge and insight into some of music's most common denominators such as musical structure, can help on a purely psychological level in order to sustain a listener's interest in the given work. But please note that I would never suggest that a musician (or musicologist for that matter) neccesarily is in the posession of a "higher" appreciation of music than that of others. In best case it may be true that music is more easily "accessible" to them due to their presumed knowledge, education, and first-hand musical experience, but I refuse to agree that there exists an absolute distinction between a musicians level of appreciation compared to that of others. Martijn, you seem to be living proof of that, and the fact that I can engage in such a vital discussion about the very essence of music with someone I presume is not a musician is evidence of the universal accessibility of music, regardless of what your education or social background may be.



No, not at all.

Actually, I think we engaged in a similar discussion a few years ago at good old Scorereviews. I can't for the life of me remember what it was about, but remember I was being a complete smart-ass and you were constantly putting me in my place!