Why is it that a galloping horse (which has four legs), is suggested in music by triplets, and trains (which are double-piston stroke engines) by four sixteenth notes?

Well, it looks as though Yo Yo Ma is again forging new connections between two worlds — this time between classical music and…Canadian politicians?

Recently iTunes released a compilation of Mozart’s piano concertos, as performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Philharmonia Orchestra. It seemed like a good idea at the time — a good pianist leading a good orchestra. And it was Mozart — how bad could it be?

For a start, it is not really possible to sit down and listen to this collection all at once. In fact, the editorial team recommends against this feat. After the first hour or two, initial delight turns into boredom, then mild irritation as the unending trills and scales continue. This problem is more marked in the later concertos, which, unfortunately, all sound identical. The earlier concertos have a fresher feel, as if they were more carefully constructed. The later ones are frenetic, as though some disaster would happen if the cascade of notes halted. Not until now did I understand the Emperor’s comment in the 1984 movie Amadeus: “There are too many notes!”

One wonders why this collection of Mozart generates such boredom. Certainly Mozart was a musical prodigy, and he was capable of revolutionary ideas (the Dissonance string quartet, for instance). But maybe music was a little too easy: it is easier to write to a well-known formula than to innovate and face the inevitable criticism for something new and different. Certainly it is pretty at first, but it is not possible to listen to the these concertos and wonder why such a genius could generate such trite compositions.

In case you didn’t know, Hilary Hahn is actually on twitter. Well, her fine violin containment unit is there, and it seems to have the inside scoop.

http://twitter.com/violincase

Violinist Hilary Hahn has always been active on the internet. She started her online journal many years ago, before blogging became de rigeur. Now she has a channel on YouTube where she interviews her peers and takes questions from fans.

Check it out. Though caution is advised, as sometimes knowing the performer’s music is a sufficient dimension.

Here’s an interesting article at the New York Times on music and medicine. To paraphrase, some researchers (pseudoresearchers?) claim that certain musical motifs, deployed appropriately, can be beneficial in regulating conditions such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, etc.

I recall a related story (no link, unfortunately) in which someone claimed that the iambic hexameter of Greek poetry had beneficial health effects. But let’s be honest, the ancient Greeks had a lot more physical activity as well, climbing mountains and rowing triemes and running marathons.

A new design is in progress and should be online soon, along with new posts. It is intended that the old site will be available as an archive.

As of this morning the much revered Andante.com has ceased operations. The site, started in March 2001 aspired to be the number one classical music website on the Internet and a leader in digital downloads of classical music. Andante featured an online store selling the Andante label’s archival CDs, a web magazine with news, reviews, interviews, and essays from a stable of top critics, concert listings and a selection of streaming music files.

Andante was founded by Alain Coblence and Pierre Bergé, a co-founder of Yves Saint Laurent and the former chair of the Paris Opera, and later sold in October 2003 to the French record label Naïve.

In recent months the site experienced significant technical problems leading to days of down time, and infrequent content updates. In the last days the site relyed on archived content - ironically the same content that contributed to the site’s previous success.

[From: Playbill Arts]