My hairdresser´s opinion

My former hairdresser (you´ll learn why he is now former in a minute) is a Spanish champion in hairdressing and 4th generation in a family of barbers.

He also studied guitar at the conservatory and is an amateur Flamenco guitar player who hits the stage every now and then.

He also has a mouth as big as a volcano crater…

…I mean, he speaks a lot.

Sometimes a bit too much, that´s why he is now my former hairdresser (I do visit him every once in a while anyway because he´s a nice guy after all and he´s very interesting to chat with since he´s so knowledgeable).

But even if he has a background in music, he can´t understand or enjoy any music that goes anything beyond the tonal system. For those of you who don´t know about technical matters in music, simply put it´s just music that sounds naturally good or stable. Easier for the ear. Comprehensible.

I gifted him once with my first album of Debussy´s piano music.

He thought it was awful.

Not the playing, but the music. He simply couldn´t understand it, even though he really tried and listened to it several times. But there was simply no way he could enjoy that music.

To me, that´s incomprehensible since Debussy´s music has become second nature to me and is as easy to understand as any other composer´s music.

It made me think of how much music that I adore might sound totally awful to other people´s ears.

Here´s a short list, in case you want to listen to any of these:

Prokofiev: 6th Piano Sonata (or almost any Prokofiev for that matter)

Shostakovich: 5th Symphony (or almost any Shostakovich for that matter)

Ravel: Valses Nobles et Sentimentales

Scriabin: 9th Piano Sonata

Ginastera: Tres Danzas Argentinas (3 Argentinean Dances)

And so many others… I have performed all those piano pieces by the way, and the 3 Argentinean Dances by Ginastera will be part of the program for my October recitals in Madrid and Berlin.

As I said yesterday, art is not necessarily meant to be beautiful, but challenging.

According to an artist whom I forget her name, she said that “bad” art can be just pleasant, and comfortable, but unstimulating to the mind or spirit. It doesn´t stir anything in us. It doesn´t make us think or feel any other thing than just a superficial well-being.

Having said that, art doesn´t necessarily need to be ugly to be stimulating or challenging. Tomorrow I´ll share with you some of my favorite beautiful works of music that I also find as profound as the wisest book or the greatest painting.

Have a great and beautiful day!

Claudio.