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The great German conductor, Michael Gielen, wrote
a letter to his season subscribers that offers very helpful advice to those of us who are
turned off by modern music, or for that matter, anything foreign.
Gielen knew his audience would be reluctant to approach, much less appreciate, the modern
music he was about to serve up that season. So in his letter he conjured up a picture of
"a guard standing at the threshold of perception" who would not allow modern
music to enter because it was foreign.
The Maestro pointed out that most music lovers appreciate a Beethoven
symphony because the form is familiar. And because it is familiar, the guards allow the
music to enter. He went on to explain that we often reject modern music because our guards
don't recognize the form and immediately turn away the music.
Gielen warned, "Unless the guardian... is given the evening off... listeners might
well miss the... deepest emotional experiences offered by vital parts of the musical
literature."
But you don't even have to listen to music to know that the unfamiliar
can always be surprisingly rewarding. If you want to be more creative or just a more
interesting person, fire the guards, establish an open-door policy in your brain, welcome
the foreigners, let the world know your right brain works.
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