Surprises in music and Hollywood

Mendelssohn’s violin concerto is the musical work that inspired me to go into a career in music.

The opening melody is both haunting and beautiful. It has a tinge of sadness and courage.  When it premiered, the opening startled the audience. Mendelssohn started the piece in a way no one else had done before.  Typically, the orchestra would play an introduction, then the soloist would enter. 

Mendelssohn had the soloist start right away.  He played with expectations in a powerful way.

I could hear Mendelssohn haunting me all day and night as a junior in high school.  I ended up playing the Mendelssohn as a soloist with several orchestras and heading off to the conservatory for college.  You can hear the great Anne Sophie-Mutter play it here.

Turning to Hollywood, the biggest star in the movie Scream, played by Drew Barrymore, (spoiler alert) is murdered in the opening scene.  

If the biggest star is killed early, there’s always some way to bring her back.  Audiences expect it. 

But in Scream, Drew Barrymore never comes back.  Audiences gasped. They talked about it endlessly.  20 years later, people still talk about it. 

The movie played with expectations in a powerful way.

What does that have to do with you?

The next time you’re sharing an idea, how might you play with expectations in a powerful way? 

Because your ideas deserve to be heard and remembered, especially when you’ve left the room. 

Thanks for caring!

With gratitude,

Anwell Tsai