Ooo! Ooo! Can I venture some responses?
* Because there's no premium on being ignorant.
* Because as music professionals we have a responsibility to be able to explain, as well as to interpret: to our students, to our audiences, to our colleagues. Understanding why something works takes us a long way toward being able to explain why it matters.
* Because insight is insight: understanding the structure, harmonic language, and compositional choices in a given piece can help us play it better--just as understanding its context, original function, and composer's biography can help us play it better.
* Because if you love the piece of music you owe it the respect of understanding how it is constructed.
chris smith
* Because there's no premium on being ignorant.
* Because as music professionals we have a responsibility to be able to explain, as well as to interpret: to our students, to our audiences, to our colleagues. Understanding why something works takes us a long way toward being able to explain why it matters.
* Because insight is insight: understanding the structure, harmonic language, and compositional choices in a given piece can help us play it better--just as understanding its context, original function, and composer's biography can help us play it better.
* Because if you love the piece of music you owe it the respect of understanding how it is constructed.
chris smith