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Dostoyevsky on beauty
“Beauty will save the world.” – The Idiot, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Arthur Rubinstein’s youthful practice habits
Interviewer: So many children hate to take music lessons. Can you understand this? Rubinstein: Oh, yes, I was one of them. You see, music lessons mean always this horrible dictatorial attitude of the professors. They slap four fingers and aarh; they shout at you: “Can’t you learn that? You must practice scales!” I mean, it […]
The creative urge
“The creative urge is the demon that will not accept anything second rate.” —Agnes de Mille (1905-1993), American dancer and choreographer. Gardner, Kara Anne. Agnes de Mille: Telling Stories in Broadway Dance. United States, Oxford University Press, 2016.
Mozart on aesthetics
Mozart’s musical aesthetics are revealed in a letter to his father about Osmin’s first aria in The Abduction of the Seraglio (Die Entführung aus dem Serail).  The Eighteenth century classical ideals of balance and refinement are evident: I have sent you only the beginning and the end of the aria.  I think it will prove […]
Beauty Around Us
Title: Beauty Around Us Composer: Greg Smith Based on text by: Bernhard Severin Ingemann Instrumentation: Piano (easy) Product medium: PDF score     Related products:     – Beauty Around Us (hymn version)     – Beauty Around Us (full piano version)     – Beauty Around Us (mp3) SAMPLE:
Mattheson on the courante
“The passion or affection which should be performed in a courante is sweet hopefullness.” – Johann Mattheson. Siblin, Eric (2009) The Cello Suites. Crows Nest: Allen and Unwin, p. 103.
Ravel’s fashion sense
Ravel was always particular about his sense of fashion.  As Léon-Paul Fargue recalled: Even when he was wasted by illness, Ravel never appeared unkept even among his closest friends.  All his life he kept the perfect, discriminating taste which led him to match his braces to his blue or pink silk shirts, much to the […]
Meditation I
Title: Meditation I Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: Piano Product medium: PDF score SAMPLE:
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
“Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, from The Wizard of Oz, is now a classic, inspiring song, but its had to believe the beginnings were not so smooth: …it was decided that standard melodies of a popular accessible kind , without gimmicks, would best suit the story, and its star [Judy Garland].  Harold Arlen and E. Y. […]
The technique of conducting
“Technique is communication: the two words are synonymous in conductors.” – Leonard Bernstein, conductor, composer and pianist. Cited at QuotationsBook.