Great Masters of the Violin: From Corelli and Vivaldi to Stern, Zukerman and Perlman by Boris Schwarz (review)

reading ability, since frequent musical examples are provided. No familiarity with gestalt psychologyor musicaltheory is assumed-ach new term is explained whenitfirstappears.Thereadingbecomes somewhat more difficult as Tenney increases his vocabulary of specialized terminology, but there isa glossary if one needs it. The second monograph, META Meta+Hodos, recasts Meta+Hodos into an outline of ‘definitions’, ‘propositions’ and ‘comments’. The new version also brings out the recursive nature of formbuildingprocessesmuchmoreemphatically than before. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. REFERENCES M. Wertheimer, “Laws of Organization in Perceptual Forms”, in Willis D. Ellis, ed.,A SourceBook of GestaltPsychology (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1938). Thematicism is by no means the only rationale for the serial procedure, however. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1956). (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1960). (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1983). One major complaint is that the gesrolr laws as formulated by Meyer bear very little resemblanceto the laws formulated in Wertheimer’soriginal paper. THE MUSICAL MIND: THE COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGYOF MUSIC by John A. Sloboda. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1986. 291 pp. Trade, $17.95. ISBN @19-852114-6, ISBN:@19-852128-6. Reviewed by Allan Shields, 4890 Old Highway, Mariposa, CA 95338, U.S.A. The author of The Musical Mind is a musician-pianist, composer and conductor -as well as a gifted psychologist. As a result, this work is infused with informed observations of high interest to psychologists, musicians and teachers of music(though Slobodascrupulouslystops short of behavioral prescriptions). Most of the work is within reach of the general reader. First of all, this is a scientific work. It reviews an enormous amount of the extant literature of experimental psychology , musicology, ethnomusicology and the history of musical creation, to name only some. Sloboda’s research has been exemplary, if not exhaustive, and his use of thepublished record of fellowscientists is highly creative. Second, this is a work filled with suggestions for investigation. I was constantly reminded of William James’s Principles of Psychology and its fecundity of hypotheses generated by a singular, reflectingmind. Perhapsthis work’s chief value lies in this contribution to the relatively new field of cognitive psycho- ‘Cognitive psychology’ is not easily defined or circumscribed. In 1958,writes Sloboda, Broadbent’s Perception and Communication “marked the advent of a cautious experimental mentalism, which showed that it was possible to subject processessuchasattentionandrecognition to rigorous laboratory investigation” (p. 8). Two other developments contributed to the new field: the science of artificial intelligence and the study of cognitive skills employed in normal activities. Cognitive psychology is fundamentally empirical and objective in its methods: logy. The ‘neutral’ cognitive psychologist attempts to articulate the structure of humanthoughtandactionina way that leaves aside the question of causebiological or social @. 240). Sloboda,however,admitsthat complete ‘neutrality’isneitherpossiblenor desirable andremainscontent todealwithquestions that require excursions into biology and sociology. In an ultimate peroration he writes that he believes that ‘‘music is a fundamental human resource which has played, and may well play again, a vital role in the survival and development of humanity” (p. 268). There areconcernswith thepsychology of music that intentionally are not discussed inthe work. Little is mentioned about aesthetic judgment, taste, preferences , the social applications of music ormusictherapy.Educationalpsychology, sensory psychology,psychoacoustics and a psychometric approach to musical ability all are treated lightly or not at all. Nevertheless,there remains a rich field of investigation and occasional speculation , u la William James. These topics are analyzed in detail and reported in transpicuous explanations: the semiotics of musical language and how musical language is not verbal language; performance of music, including a sight reading(frightreading,forsome),rehearsal and expert performance; composition and improvisation (the material on improvisation is especiallyenlightening); hearing, listening and memory in music; learning of musicalskills;and, finally, the role of biology and culture in musical thinking. Chapter Two, ‘‘Music, Language and Meaning”, is the least accessible to the general reader, who may not be familiar with modern logic and semiotics. The authorexplorescarefullyand in detailthe relations between the work of ChomskySchneker and psychomusicology to see how the structure of language/music informs about the internal processes of musicians and auditors. As a connoisseur of words, I am grateful to Sloboda for two neologisms, both needed in our mutual language, English: ‘optionality...