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Music Notes: Musical exaggerations

By David Amos  
San Diego Jewish Times,  May 5, 2006

As we all know, the arts are not exact sciences. They provoke emotions, and are more likely to be called subjective than objective. This opens the 
door for lavish praise, which may be misplaced, undue criticism, which may make the source sound knowledgeable, or can plainly be a gross stretch 
of the facts.

I first thought of this article as it relates to music, but the more I worked on it, the more I could see that it could apply to so many other aspects 
of everyday life. We are bombarded by words that are so overused in both frequency and degree, that they have lost practically all their impact.

Take for example, the word genius. This description should be reserved for Newton, Einstein, Mozart, and very few others. But in today’s world, 
everyone with above average intelligence or achievements is quickly labeled a genius! A football strategist, a successful financier, a publicity innovator, 
a political peacemaker; they all may be successful overachievers, but hardly geniuses.

Other overused words which make me skeptical as to their credibility include maven, guru, expert, world-class, specialist, master, professional, 
masterpiece, icon, professional grade, rising star, super, ultimate, definitive, child prodigy, sensational,
and many others we are all guilty of using
at one time or another. We get carried away by our emotions, and with good intentions overstate the value of the subject at hand.

Here are a few others that call my attention: Since when a custodian should be called a sanitation engineer? From what engineering school did he get
his degree?

A course titled “The Science of Garbage Collection, the Challenge of the 21st Century.”

I am both amused and appalled at the radio commercial for home financing, where the pedestrian sounding announcer (probably someone who works 
for the sponsor) suggests that “this is the biggest no-brainer in the history of mankind.” At least he made me laugh a bit. Once.

Should all major composers in history whose names we easily recognize and whose music we enjoy, be called masters? Possibly, but let’s be 
careful here, for one person’s master is another’s “insignificant other.”

I have recently written an article praising the virtues of Mozart, who is universally accepted as one of the greatest minds in history. I even ran a guest 
column
by Arnold Rosner, whose views of Mozart are quite different than mine. But nevertheless, whether we adore Mozart, like, or dislike his music,
it is an irrefutable fact that his legendary gifts and abilities in music composition and performance qualify him to be called a genius.

This manipulation of language to gain one’s sympathy, enthusiasm, or money, as the case may be, is more often than not a ploy to commercially
promote a work, a service, a product, an artist, or an ensemble of any kind to be seen as better than they may really be. This has happened throughout
history in all walks of life. These superlatives are legitimate some of the time, but are used so frequently that it is difficult to separate the wheat from
the chaff.

Which brings me to one of my favorite musical peeves, the instant standing ovation for music that ends loud and/or fast. San Diego music audiences seem 
to be especially smitten by this affliction. Yes, standing ovations are a legitimate way to show strong approval for the music that we just heard, but at least
I try to be more discriminating and selective. We should reserve our ovations only for the very best, and these do not come to us too frequently. And here
is where we have to learn the often subtle differences between very good and the really great.

I have attended theater performances at the Old Globe and Cassius Carter Stage for decades, and after watching dozens and dozens of plays, I recall 
some truly outstanding ones. But I can hardly remember audiences jumping to their feet at many of these. Could it be that theatre drama audiences are 
more knowledgeable and sophisticated than symphony, chamber music and opera audiences? Possibly. But, as much as we mock and dismiss obvious 
charlatanism from certain performers and promoters, we should be cautious at our own inflated or pretentious falsities, even when uttered or 
demonstrated with good intentions.

In music, good stage presence and showmanship are often mistaken for a great performance. And the reverse may also apply. The secret is to simply
listen and learn as much as possibly to what you are about to hear. Serious music transcends the “music for entertainment” syndrome, but it also provides
us far deeper and enduring satisfaction.

The best balance to my modest diatribe is for musical audiences to be better informed, to be more seasoned listeners, to attend more concerts of every 
kind, and to be a bit more cautious when over-praising or over-criticizing a particular artist, ensemble, composer, or a musical work. History has proven
time and time again the errors of our ways.