Jane Erb:

>Take it from me, and I'll leave my own likes and dislikes out of this,
>but absolutely, positively yes.  I've been told no amount of times that
>one cannot be a real music lover without loving Mozart.

I've been told the same -- and I don't believe it. I happen to like Mozart
in very small doses. And understanding his musical contribution certainly
enhances my appreciation of other music I listen to -- some of which I even
enjoy.

I guess the lesson I have learned from starting this thread is there are
people for whom there are absolute truths, i.e. "Ignore the humming which
distracts you and you will grow". Trouble is -- I'm not sure I believe this
and I'm also not sure I want to believe it. Gould's humming -- whatever Muse
inspires it, whatever artistry he displays -- interferes with the reason I
listen to music. And it certainly interferes with my appreciation of his own
interpretative skills. I would be just as irritated and turned off by
Toscanini's muttering or any of the other 'greats' mentioned in the (many!)
responses to my original point.

I watch movies for entertainment. I would be severely distracted if halfway
through 'Lawrence of Arabia' an extraneous shot was spliced in of O'Toole
and Hawkins partying in celebration of a successful scene. I listen to music
to try to gain some sense of what the composer is trying to communicate --
not that the artist is incidental, but I'm after his interpretation, not his
extraneous thought processes.

Then again -- maybe I haven't grown sufficiently, no matter what my tailor
tells me!

Tim Mahon