Len Fehskens wrote:

>Forgive me for being unable to relate to the idea that a piece of music can
>become so familiar as to be no longer worth hearing.  I have simply never
>understood this reaction.  Do you treat your best friends this way?

I think Ian may have been alluding to the phenomenon of "burn-out," which
I for one have often experienced.  (In fact, I burned out on the whole
Beethoven Nine for quite a few years.) Usually, though, one eventually
recovers from this malady, so it's not really the case that you feel that
a piece is "no longer worth hearing" forever.

If Len or anyone else has never experienced burn-out, I would be interested
in hearing about it.  Theoretically, I suppose you could prevent it by
judiciously limiting your exposure to your favorite music, but that is
awfully hard to do.

Jon Johanning // [log in to unmask]