Mexico Medical Student |

Last week I got the “special” Classical Music edition of the iTunes Store new releases and it had as its featured artist Janine Jansen. I don’t normally pay attention to the looks of most classical artists, but this one is well, jaw-droppingly gorgeous. They’ve tried to make sex symbols of classical artists before; namely, the Eroica Trio were called “babes of classical music” for crying out loud, there’s such a desperation to tie sex appeal (or any appeal) of classical music/musicians to mainstream audiences, and that’s pretty desperate.

Just like in any professional field, one should be judged on merit. There have been too many Anna Kournikovas. Jansen is a serious talent. I bought the “Four Seasons” CD and it was awesome. The latest “style” for baroque instrumentation and interpretation is to basically beat period instruments within an inch of their life, pushing tempos, etc. Her ensemble doesn’t ignore this trend, but they don’t sacrifice lyricism either. They definitely had some fresh ideas. If you don’t have a good copy of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons,” go to iTunes Music Store and check it out. Meanwhile, I’ll indulge my own fresh ideas…