Julius Asal on the exploring darker emotionsWhen I was younger I read a lot of Kafka and Büchner: I’ve always been drawn to the darker side of things, and I think that part of the beauty of what we do as artists is to dare other people to explore it too. I wish the listener to invest something. Showing up to […]
Tips for composersRob Deemer highlights several aspects needed for a composer to survive in the artistic community: – ability to accept “failure” (entering competitions, etc.) – maintaining a “stubbornness” to achieve recognition – promoting not only your best works, but also occasionally enjoying the success of your “foibles” – having a sense of “who you are” as […]
Conditions stipulated for the Imperial Court ChapelThe Imperial Chapel Choir was founded in Vienna in 1498 and performed exclusively for the court. Composers that worked with the choir included Musicians like Heinrich Isaac, Paul Hofhaimer, Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, Johann Joseph Fux, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Antonio Caldara, Antonio Salieri and Anton Bruckner. Schubert was a chorister. After the dissolution of the […]
How not to get an audienceSatie’s ballet Relâche (1924) had trouble pulling a crowd: the title translates as “this performances is cancelled”. Source: Lawrence, Christopher (2001) Swooning. Sydney: Random House, p.70.
The potential of man“It is surprising what a man can do when he has to, and how little most men will do when they don’t have to.” — Walter Linn The Signalman’s Journal, Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, vol. 29-30, 1948, p.188.
Handel’s speedy methodMorrell gave Handel the words of Cleopatra’s air “Convey me to some peaceful shore” in Alexander Balus, he cried out “Damn your Iambics!”. Morell offered to change them to trochees and went into the next room to do so, only to find about three minutes later that Handel had set them as they stood.” Dean, […]
Success is a staircase“Success is not a doorway, it’s a staircase.” — Dottie Walters
The English and music“The English may not like music, but they absolutely love the noise it makes.” – Sir Thomas Beecham Cited in: Jarski, Rosemarie (2005) Great British Wit. London: Ebury Press, p. 198.
The artist’s soulThere is, behind the soul and the whole life of the artist, perhaps a suffering soul … The moment one day will come in which perhaps yourself – if you possess a soul as I wish to believe – you will be able to see through feeling without any explanation. – Dimitri Mitropoulos to Leonard […]
The soul and speech“There is no real teacher who in practice does not believe in the existence of the soul, or in a magic that acts on it through speech.” Allan Bloom (1987) The closing of the American mind: How higher education has failed democracy and impoverished the souls of today’s students. New York: Simon Simon and Schuster, […]
