One of our regular listeners, Jack from San Anselmo, made me aware of a review in the Wall Street Journal of a new book by Ruth Katz that explains how Western music developed its common and innately understandable language and then lost both its grammar and coherence. The book, A Language of its Own, takes us on a journey from Plato who bemoaned the state of music in the 4th century B.C., writing “Through foolishness they deceived themselves into thinking that there was no right or wrong way in music, that it was to be judged good or bad by the pleasure it gave.” to modern times and a modern British composer who stated “I can’t be responsible for the audience.” WSJ reviewer James Penrose concludes by saying “To be sure, “A Language of Its Own” is not a long moan about the rise and fall of Western music. Ms. Katz is an elegant analyst, not a polemicist. And she is hopeful that our musical tradition can regain its footing, perhaps by re-creating the “abstracting” process that allowed Western music, despite its inability to describe what it does, to beguile and fascinate us for so long.”

Looks to be a fascinating read. The full review is here.

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Whenever tragedy strikes, we look for ways to help and the San Francisco Boys Choir is putting together a benefit concert that gives us all a chance to do something positive for Haiti.  On Sunday January 24 at 5pm, the choir will be joined by the great Frederica von Stade (who it seems never tires of donating her time and talent to worthy causes).  The concert also features members of the SF Opera Chorus and organist Rudy de Vos.  The setting is the stunning new Cathedral of Christ the Light on Oakland’s Lake Merritt.  Click here for all the details.

The concept of the  Mozart Effect was  described by French researcher, Dr. Alfred A. Tomatis in his 1991 book Pourquoi Mozart? He used the music of Mozart in his efforts to “retrain” the ear, and believed it promoted healing and the development of the brain. The theory has taken more than a few knocks over the years, but new research backs the initial theory. Doctors in a Tel Aviv hospital have shown playing Mozart music to premature babies seems to help them gain weight faster and become stronger.

“It’s not exactly clear how the music is affecting them, but it makes them calmer and less likely to be agitated,” said researcher Dror Mandel, a lecturer at Tel Aviv University. Though the sample size was small, the scientists said their findings were statistically significant.

Read the whole article from the Live Science website here.

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…plus Baby Newsom sighting.  ACT celebrated the 100th anniversary of its home on Saturday with an open house that attracted hundreds of folks throughout the day.  The cutest participant of the day was Montana Newsom (below), making her media debut.  (Mom Jennifer is an ACT graduate).  The day was such a success that ACT is extending their Phedre ticket deal to tomorrow.  You can buy tickets for just 19.10 for any performance of Phedre.  1910 was the year that the theatre opened.

Reading the New York Times’ description of Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andnes’ recent performance at New York’s big Apple Store at Lincoln Center, I couldn’t help but think of our KDFC Casual Concerts.  Leif played for about 50 minutes, chatting between pieces with a small but appreciative audience. That’s exactly the format for our in-lobby concerts with some of the world’s finest musicians.  The setting was the very cool glass-enclosed store in the city’s performing arts nexus.  A classical concert in an unexpected venue?  Again, sounds like us!  See KDFC at Yoshi’s concert series news below.