If music can possess contour-based expressive properties intrinsically, then Hanslick's neutrality thesis requires defeating Kivy-style counterexamples, not merely demonstrating one malleable aria.

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Contour-based expressive properties(as the type of expression music might have intrinsically): The emotional or expressive qualities that come from the shape and pattern of musical notes (like whether a melody goes up or down, fast or slow).
Hanslick, Eduard(as the originator of the neutrality thesis being discussed): A 19th-century music critic and philosopher who argued that music doesn't express emotions or feelings—it's purely about musical structure and patterns.
Kivy, Peter(philosopher being cited as an authority on musical expression): A contemporary philosophy professor who studies how music works and what it means, particularly famous for his arguments about how music expresses emotions.
Neutrality thesis(as Hanslick's main argument about music): The philosophical claim that music itself is emotionally neutral and doesn't actually express feelings, even though it might sound emotional to us.

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