The recent discussion as to Salonen being a musically "cold" person brought
to my attention a basic difference among lovers of classical music, sort of
a hard and fast "line in the sand".

The longer I'm on the list, the more I see a significant difference
between listeners who prefer a relatively strong emotional musical display
and those who do not.  Of course, neither position is better or worse than
the other, but these differences do elicit some heated exchanges.

I suppose I'm in the "less emotional" category, and that would be accurate
based on how I deal with the stresses in my life.  I know that I have
problems with/don't appreciate some of the romantic-era repertoire because
of my basic personality and outlook on life.

Armed with this insight, I can better understand how some list members
would disagree strongly with, say, my opinion of the recent Naxos disc
of Brahms string quartets.  I felt that the emotional quotient of the
performances was exemplary; others, posting me privately, thought the
performances too stiff and neutral.

Don Satz
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