Connections B Y
D A V I D
L E E B R O N
Music is an odd thing. Like a smell, it can transport us instantly across decades to a time in our youth we remember fondly — or sometimes not. For me, that might be Cat Stevens, the then-too- often-true “Alone Again (Naturally)” by Gilbert O’Sullivan, or even less pleasantly, my sister endlessly playing Donovan’s “Mellow Yellow.” Or it can connect in some way to past centuries and convey a bit of the spirit and sensibilities of a time long ago and draw a connection between classical composers and contemporary audiences. It can become a uniter of — or a divider between — generations. I, for example, was thrilled when my children developed what turned out to be a somewhat temporary liking for Nena, the German pop-rock band that performed “99 Red Balloons.”
M
uch of this is true of art generally; however, unlike the creating of a painting, each time music is played it is in some sense created anew, and each connection between performer and audience is a new experience. As Joni Mitchell once quipped, “Nobody ever said to Van Gogh, ‘Paint “Starry Night” again, man!’” Recognizing, of course, that each contemplation of visual art may inspire a different reaction, and that some pieces of art, like the Turrell now being constructed at Rice, may change dramatically as the environment changes. Music is something in which every segment of our society, from the wealthiest to the poorest, partakes. Music has meaning to each of us individually, even if we are embarrassed to sing outside the shower. And while a timeless piece like Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony requires an extraordinary orchestra and chorus — as in last year’s Shepherd School performance — to fully realize its power and beauty, even my son’s first playing of the simple melody from “Ode to Joy” on the piano was a thrilling experience. And although the most
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sophisticated pieces are typically lengthy, the uniqueness of a piece of music is often established in just a few bars. This is reflected sometimes in contests to identify a musical piece after little more than a handful of notes or in the modern technology of applications like Shazam or SoundHound that “listen” to a snippet of music and tell us its definitive source. Music has a mathematical quality and deep structure, and yet it is able to provoke emotion at an extraordinary level. Performers can be technically brilliant but, like artists in any field of art, sometimes fail to embody emotion and artistry in their playing. Although we relish hearing music played on original instruments, such as a harpsichord, music frequently has shown itself adaptable to changes in technology, such as versions of Beethoven’s work played on a synthesizer for the movie “A Clockwork Orange.” Music often is regarded as a universal language, extending potentially beyond the earth, as famously represented in a memorable scene in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” And yet, few things can represent a culture as distinctively as its music. Whenever I hear the
sounds of gamelan, I am instantly transported back to Indonesia. Music is intensely cerebral, but in some aspects, it shares more characteristics with athletics than perhaps any other endeavor at the university. The music school is the only other part of the university to methodically identify the individual students it wants or needs and then recruit them. Like athletes, music students often are selected for specific positions or skills. Also as with athletes, musicians must stay in practice, or they likely will not be in shape to perform. I can testify to this from my own personal experience. I played pretty good trumpet when I was younger, but after a couple of decades of not playing, music is not what emerges when I blow on a horn. Musicians are, as pianist Leon Fleisher said, “small muscle athletes.” Like athletics, musical performance efforts range from the individual virtuoso performance — think about our pole vaulters — to team efforts in which the individual seeks only to contribute to the collective success. And although music is not usually performed as a competitive exercise, it is judged by the most demanding of standards.