A Note to the Classically Insecure

A Note to the Classically(ˈklasikəl) Insecure(ˌinsiˈkyo͝or)

By Miles(mīl) Hoffman

I was talking about music recently with a friend who makes his living cloning genes(jēn), manipulating(məˈnipyəˌlāt) molecules(ˈmäləˌkyo͞ol) and investigating(inˈvestiˌgāt) the pathways of the human immune(iˈmyo͞on) system. This is a person whose intellectual(ˌintlˈekCHo͞oəl) molecules are clearly very well arranged. But he proceeded(prō-,prəˈsēd) to tell me that although he loved classical music, when he listened to it he wasn’t able to perceive(pərˈsēv) anything other than his own emotional reactions.

Could it be true? Well, he thought(THôt) it was. But he was wrong.

What my friend was expressing(ikˈspres) was merely(ˈmi(ə)rlē) a symptom(ˈsim(p)təm) of a common affliction(əˈflikSHən), one that crosses all intellectual, social and economic classes: the Classical Music Insecurity Complex. Immediate(iˈmēdē-it) therapy(ˈTHerəpē) was indicated(ˈindiˌkāt).

There’s no question, I pointed out, that he perceives more than just his own reactions. Lots more. In every piece he listens to he perceives changes, both great and small, in tempo(ˈtempō), volume(-ˌyo͞om,ˈvälyəm), pitch(piCH) and instrumentation(-men-,ˌinstrəmənˈtāSHən). He perceives melodies(ˈmelədē), harmonies(ˈhärmənē) and rhythms(ˈriT͟Həm), and their patterns. He perceives, in short, virtually(ˈvərCHə(wə)lē) all the musical(ˈmyo͞ozikəl) ingredients(iNG-,inˈgrēdēənt) that composers(kəmˈpōzər) manipulate(məˈnipyəˌlāt) to stimulate(ˈstimyəˌlāt) emotional effects(iˈfekt), which is precisely(priˈsīslē) why he’s emotionally affected(əˈfektid). His “problem” isn’t perception(pərˈsepSHən) — it’s description(diˈskripSHən). And what he doesn’t know is the jargon(ˈjärgän,ˈjärgən), the technical(ˈteknikəl) terms for the ingredients and manipulations(məˈnipyəˌlāt).

And why should he? He’s a scientist, not a musician. And frankly, it’s not even essential(iˈsenCHəl) that he be aware of the specific musical and technical means by which his reactions are being stimulated(ˈstimyəˌlāt).

…

Perhaps it’s overly optimistic(ˌäptəˈmistik) of me, but I still cling to the hope that, with the right approaches and experiences(ikˈspi(ə)rēəns), longtime sufferers will feel sufficiently(səˈfiSHənt) encouraged(-ˈkə-rij,enˈkərij) to go ahead and jettison(-zən,ˈjetisən) the C.M.I. Complex outright. I’d like the legions(ˈlējən) of actual and potential classical music lovers to believe that, like my friend the scientist, they hear more than they can name, and that the very point of listening to great music is to be moved, not to put names on what moves you.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/18/opinion/classical-music-insecurity.html