Yeah, this is mostly correct. Officially musical instruments are tuned to A=440 hz. There are also different ways of tuning scales/intervals (just, equal temperament, pythagorean, mean...)
Although most orchestras actually tune to 442, presumably because on a string instrument you can bend a note up, but not down.
That bunk about 440 being oppressive is nonsense. If you don't like the sound in one key, just play it in a lower key. The difference between A and Ab (415.3) is greater than the difference between 440 and 432.
There's a lot of psuedoscience around music in general (as a musician and an engineer, it's hard to believe what some people believe about music).