Re: [Harp-L] Re: Genius? LOL

[martin oldsberg <martinoldsberg@xxxxxxxxx>]

One way of dealing with "genius" is to simply stop using the word. Nobody knows what it means anyway (but there´s some vague connection to superhuman powers), except in those tiresome IQ tests where a certain score level has been named "genius". But as we all know that has very little to do with creativity. 
 
  When you then transplant this fuzzy concept right out of the romantic era to your own neigborhood ("we have an extremely good harmonica player here, a genius!") suddenly everybody and his brother can be a genius, not only Richard Wagner and Wolfgang A M, two of the most celebrated geniuses, but also blues harpist Dick W, and then it means even less.
  Howard Levy´s dedication to finding new ways for the diatonic and developing his skills on the instrument are absolutely stupendous, but Wagner it ain´t. And that´s no criticism -- calling Wagner a genius seems to explain precious little of his achievements, but his efforts outshine Howard L´s with quite some bit of distance. Check out Tristan and Isolde or Die Meistersinger and go figure.
 
Cheers,
Martin