The Surprising Relationship Between Music and Long-Term Memory

Antonio Cadenas, a Spanish musician, will be 101 in May 2021. He was born in Terque, Spain, in 1919.

Cadenas’ life and musical career are fascinating. He epitomizes the proverb, ‘Age is just a number.’

He not only carries the weight of the years, but he also has Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is an incurable brain illness that impairs social, cognitive, and behavioral capacities.

condition. Alzheimer’s disease affects around 850,000 people in the United Kingdom and many more throughout the world.

Alzheimer’s disease causes memory loss; however, in certain cases, musical memory does not.

Despite suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, Cadenas continues to practice the piano and memorize musical theory.

This is exemplified by Cadenas’ performance of Juan D’Arienzo’s Lagrimas y sonrisas.

how well he plays the piano and how he doesn’t allow any of these difficulties to get in his way.

Cadenas is being cared for by his son and family now that he is living with them. He is sitting in a room with his kid and in front of his piano.

His kid instructs him to begin playing the piano. He plays the music after his first prompt.

easily and without effort. At the end of his performance, his son nods in approval.

His mother and local monks from a nearby cathedral began teaching him piano when he was a small boy. From 1942 to 1946,

Cadenas took a break from music to join the military. Cadenas’ passion for music returned after his military service, and he continued to teach until he retired in the 1980s.

Cadenas’ musical talent is a testament to musicians who endure their work despite daily hardships and continue to make beautiful music for the benefit of all listeners.