Steve Schwartz:

>Of course, the assumption behind this is that your taste points somehow
>to an aesthetic universal.  What about someone who doesn't like Brahms
>for the exact same reason you cite -- that is, his harmonies aren't
>interesting enough, too predictable, etc.?

Well, that would tend to support the notion that there is some kind of
aesthetic universal, wouldn't it?  But I suspect that Bob would settle
for an explanation of why he finds some works interesting and exciting
while he finds other works dull and boring.  Probably this is less complex
than why we all find some people interesting or boring; but that is
complicated by the fact we differ in whom we would apply those terms to.
And mitigating that is the fact that there are probably some people and
some musical works that nearly all of us would find dull and some of
which we would all agree at least that some people would find them
exciting--even if personally we cannot stand them.

(I liked what Jon Gallant had to say.)

That said, the passage that Bob quotes does seem to offer an explanation--
within the limits and conventions of tonal music--why many people find
some music more interesting than other music.  (BTW, Steve, aren't you
on record as not finding Mozart terribly exciting?) It is undoubtedly
not a sufficient explanation; for one thing tonality is only one aspect
of some music.  Melody, rhythm, tempo, instrumental color, and the other
elements of music enter in, also.  For myself, I gemerally respond to a
combination of these.  Sometimes I can articulate--up to a point--what
I admire and find fascinating about a piece of music, or a person, but
there is always that j'ne sais quoi, and I am not sure whether, if I
were able to come to a complete explanation, whether I would then lose
interest or not.  Also, sometimes seemingly simple elements can be
satisfying--and are sometimes more complex than they seem.

Typically, I will experience a longstanding enjoyment of certain music,
Janacek's for instance, or the Schubert Great C Major Symphony, and then
someone will point out something unusual about the harmonic rhythm, or
whatever, and I will think, "Aha, so that's what it is!"

There is always the need to ask why, and sometimes we get to understand--to
a degree.

Jim Tobin