Serenading Grapes: How One Vineyard Uses Mozart to Improve Its Wine

Italian vineyard owner Giancarlo Cignozzi takes a rather unorthodox approach to growing grapes: he plays classical music for them. His vineyard in Tuscany is divided into 25 sections; in one of those sections, called “Il Paradiso di Frassina,” Cignozzi plays classical music (specifically Mozart) all day, every day. Why? “I suppose that the music can improve the life of the humanity, animals too. But why not plants?” argues Cignozzi. His hunch paid off: the grapes in that section of the vineyard grow to be more robust, and the grapes closest to the speakers have a higher sugar content. Stefano Mancuso, a plant scientist at the University of Florence, postulates the music may confuse harmful bugs and impede breeding, resulting in that section of the vineyard needing no pesticides and little fertilizer. The music reportedly also scares away birds and other grape-eating creatures. While Cignozzi prefers Mozart for his grapes, Mancuso explains that other types of music would work as well–possibly even heavy metal. It’s hard to imagine Mozart ever anticipating his music would be used to help grapes grow! Cignozzi’s methods provide yet another addition to the long list of living things that benefit from exposure to music.

Sending Playwrights to the Theater

Many playwrights cannot actually afford tickets to see plays. Some of the nation’s leading regional theaters are working to fix this, offering free last-minute seats to shows at their venues. Theaters across the country have agreed to make day-of, unsold tickets available not only to students (in well-known “student rush” sales), but also to professional writers who belong to the Dramatists Guild. The initiative, called Playwrights Welcome, was organized by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwrights Marsha Norman and Doug Wright along with Bruce Lazarus, a leading play script publisher. Wright explains: “It’s a perverse irony in our field that most working playwrights can’t afford to actually go to the theater, and you can’t expect a generation of artists to master the craft if they can’t keep current.” The program hopes that giving playwrights affordable access to plays will lead many to be inspired by their peers. A generous move on the part of these theaters that no doubt will prove beneficial to the theater community.

Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang is famous for his explosive works of art–pieces that literally use gunpowder and fire to create unforgettable displays and after-images. His latest work, “Sky Ladder,” consisted of a breathtaking 1,650 foot fire ladder leading directly up into the sky. The project was 21 years in the making, seeing failed attempts in 1994, 2001, and 2012. Cai set off his creation in his hometown of Quanzhou, China, in front of friends and family. His work is inspired by the beauty of explosions: “Listen to that sound, full of power and grandeur,” he explains, “It’s amazing, amazing, amazing.” Cai is the subject of a recently released Netflix documentary entitled “Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Qiang” that showcases his gunpowder art and the underlying themes of Eastern philosophy and contemporary social issues. HIs artwork is truly something you have to see to believe!

Entrepreneur Sam Bodkin created an app called “Groupmuse,” which actually allows people to order classical music concerts to their homes. Bodkin was inspired to create the app after meeting a group of students at the New England Conservatory in Boston–he found chamber music so powerful when performed live that he was convinced other young people would feel the same way. Since its launch in 2013, Groupmuse has hired over 1,200 young classical musicians to play small living-room concerts across the country. Each Groupmuse concert consists of two parts: the first is selected from the classics, and the second is determined by the performers themselves. “We’ve had Dvorak and then string quartet arrangements of Guns and Roses,” Bodkin explains. Around 20 Groupmuse concerts happen every week across the country, mostly in large hubs like Boston, New York, and the Bay Area. The audiences are not the only ones reaping benefits from the performances– along with pocketing some cash, Groupmuse musicians are able to practice and hear feedback from listeners in a more intimate environment than typical stage performances. What an inventive way to get young people excited about live classical music!