GreatnessGreatness means the construction of an inner world, and the communication of this inner world to the physical world of humanity. The two belong together; neither is thinkable without the other. The strongest feeling and the most vivid imagination are worthless to humanity if they do not manifest themselves; the greatest constructive talent is worthless […]
Through teaching we teach ourselves“It is by teaching that we teach ourselves, by relating that we observe, by affirming that we examine, by showing that we look, by writing that we think, by pumping that we draw water into the well.” —Henri Frederic Amiel. Swiss philosopher, poet & critic. H. F. Amiel, Amiel’s Journal, trans. H. Ward, London, Macmillan […]
Bach’s preferred instrumentJohann Sebastian Bach’s preferred to play the viola when conducting an orchestra. Source: Siblin, Eric (2009) The Cello Suites. Crows Nest: Allen and Unwin, p. 216.
The Poet and the MusePoet, you are no liar. The world that you imagine is the real one. The melodies of the harp alone know truth, and in this life they can be our only true guides. Cavafy, “The Poet and the Muse”
An insight into the “Happy Birthday” tune“Happy Birthday to You” is not an accidental success. It is not a traditional song nor did it appear ex nihilo. It originated with the Hill sisters, Patty and Mildred, and was first sung in a kindergarten classroom in Louisville, Kentucky in the late 19th century, back when kindergarten was a social experiment. Patty Smith […]
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, […]
In Memory of Those in ParadiseTitle: In Memory of Those in Paradise Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: Cello and piano Product medium: PDF score SAMPLE:
Mozart improvisingIn 1777, Mozart was having lunch with his uncle at the Holy Cross Convent in Ausburg. Mozart played a sinfoni and Vanhall’s Violin Concerto in B. In the evening, at supper, he performed his Strasbourg concerto, a keyboard prelude and his Fischer Variations (K179). It was suggested to the deacon of the Holy Cross Conen, […]
Mahler’s bowing instructionsRachmaninoff played his Third Concerto in January 1909 in New York, conducted by Gustav Mahler. Rachmaninoff recalled the rehearsal: Suddenly, Mahler, who had conducted this passage a tempo, tapped his desk: “Stop! Don’t pay any attention to the difficult bowing marked in your parts. … Play the passage like this,” and he indicated a different […]
On thinking“If you make people think they’re thinking they’ll love you: but if you really make them think, they’ll hate you.” Don Marquis, American writer, poet & artist. Creator of the characters such as Archy (1916), a cockroach who had been a poet in a previous life, who supposedly left poems on Marquis’ typewriter by jumping […]
