Montalcini, 关乃忠，梅兰芳

Coincidentally, two major figures from two very different fields made similar remarks this week.

The oldest living Nobel Prize winner, Italian scientist Rita Levi Montalcini, recalled appreciatively of how the anti-Jewish laws of the Fascist regime in the 1930s had forced her to quit university and do her research in her bedroom. Her advice: 'don't fear difficult moments, the best comes from them.'

The renowned Chinese composer-conductor 关乃忠 (http://www.guannaizhong.com/), now in his 70s and presently in Singapore for the SFY Chinese Orchestra Central Judging, likewise was 'grateful' to the communist for what he went through during the cultural revolution. The lesson he learnt: '苦难是财富' ('adversity is wealth').

These two remarks bring to mind Chen Kai Ge's recent movie 'Mei Lan Fang' (http://ent.sina.com.cn/f/m/mlf/index.shtml), which I watched last month. If I recall correctly, in one episode, the movie character 邱如白 selfishly persuaded 孟小冬 to leave 梅兰芳 for fear that the latter might simply 'live happily ever after' and presumably lose his artistry: '谁毁了梅兰芳这份孤独，谁就毁了梅兰芳!' ... Would Beethoven be as great if he hadn't lost his hearing?....

Looks like artistes (and scientists) thrive in adversities! Analyzing music then, in one sense, is to get a glimpse into the creative productivity of such hardships and constraints.