Lectures / 09/02/2009 7:30 pm

Art and Science?

Music as therapy – dream or reality?

Since antiquity music has not only been the most mysterious of all the arts but it has also been credited with magical healing powers. Music is linked in many cultures almost inseparably with religion, healing, priesthood. From Orpheus, to the effects of whose music not even Death was immune, to modern brain research there has always been abundant evidence that music serves not only as a source of pleasure but potentially as a drug capable of triggering both psychic and physical processes. As with other drugs the really relevant question concerns the effects and side effects of music. Among the questions regarding its potentially restorative properties the ones dealing with the power of music take precedence over its alleged beneficial effects.