Piano Good for the Brain

Some news this morning from the science hall:

"Practicing the piano as a young child gives the human brain a musical capacity that is difficult to acquire later in life, Swedish scientists found in a study quoted in the media. "

and this intrigued me: "The scientists, who investigated the brains of eight concert pianists in their thirties who started practicing as young children, found that the pyramidal tract is "more structured in pianists than in non-musicians".

I wonder who's brains they examined? Read the rest here.

One of the swedish scientists is Fredrik Ullen, a remarkable man of many talents, not only is he a neuro-science researcher but also a very fine pianist. A sheer delight is his recording of various transcriptions and arrangements of Chopin's "Minute Waltz" (charting its transformations by the likes of Sorbaji, Godowsky, Phillips, and more). Find more information about the disc here. He has also recorded the music of Ligeti and Scriabin among others.

Ullen has his own website. It's well worth poking around. You'll find it here.