[MD] Ham on Esthesia

[Stephen Hannon]

[Steve H previously]
> "Strawberry Fields Forever" comes to mind, because I never
> picked out "I buried Paul" until I read about it.  Same thing when
> I learned that "Dancing in the Streets" by Martha and the Vandellas
> was about race riots.

[Steve H]
Actually, Martha and the Vandellas was a Motown group in the 1960s
(in the mold of Diana Ross and the Supremes).

[Ham]
Are they looking at beat music as a way to identify with the rebellion
of our age,
or do you think there is genuine artistic merit in this new "art form"?

[Steve H]
Actually, both!  People look to music as something to identify with;
that's why I see such a strong connection between "mood" and musical
taste.  Because there are some basic human moods that everyone
experiences, and because mood is often shaped by
the social environment and events that surround us, some songs have a
wide range of appeal.  And just because something is simple doesn't
make it any less of an art form.  Just look at modern visual art:
Warhol, Mondrian, Rothko especially.

[Ham]
What are your tastes as a violinist, Steve?

[Steve H]
I like mostly playing in full orchestras.  Some pieces that come to mind
(in no particular order):
Tchaikovsky- Swan Lake (waltz especially)
Copland- Appalachian Spring
Copland- Outdoor Overture
Shostakovich- 5th symphony
Brahms- Variations on a Theme of Haydn
Elgar- Nimrod from Enigma Variations
Stravinsky- Berceuse and Finale from Firebird Suite
Holst- Mars and Jupiter from the Planets

As a soloist and chamber music palyer, I tend to appreciate a peice
the most when I start it and when I perform it.  (Thank you Mike!  You
posted the words I was looking for.)
Some of my favorites:
Mozart- 5th Violin concerto
Mozart- Eine Kleine nachtmusik
Kreisler- Praeludium and Allegro

[Ham]
And, one more question -- If you hadn't become acquainted with Pirsig,
wouldn't you be persuaded, as I am, that the beauty (value) of music
is in "the ear of the beholder"?

[Steve H]
Probably.  But what is all at work here?  Not just preferences in
music, but also in
visual arts, favorite colors, favorite cars, favorite toys for
children, favorite sodas,
favorite clothes...  where did all these systems of preference come from?
I still think that "mood" has a lot to do with it.  But all of the
items I just mentioned are inorganic.  "Mood" doesn't seem to be
inorganic at all.  Considering that there is medicine that affects
"mood", it has some characteristics of the biological level.
Considering that music and art are aspects of culture, "mood" has some
characteristics of the social level.  And considering that music and
art evoke a lot of imagination and thought, "mood" can even be
associated with the intellectual level!

So what is "mood"  Biological?  Social?  Intellectual?  Or is there
something else in the MOQ that describes why such systems of
preference exist?

Some food for thought,
Steve H


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