Structure and disharmony

“I need to start from the assumption that the world of spirit is ordered, structured by its very nature, that everything  which causes disharmony in the world, all that is monstrous, inexplicable, and dreadful … And the formula for world harmony is most likely linked not to the blurring of evil but to the fact that, when drawn into a harmonious picture of the whole, even evil changes its function.  By complementary interaction the negative elements cancel each other out, and as a result something harmonious and beautiful is born.”

  • Alfred Schnittke, Soviet composer.

Posted

in

by


Featured Content

Schumann chasing a girl
Schumann once attended a masquerade during the carnival of 1830, in company with his friend Rosen, for the purpose of paying some attention to a pretty but otherwise insignificant girl.He knew that she would be present at the ball, and, as a pretext for approaching her, put a poem in his pocket.Fortune favored him: he […]
The cycle of masterpieces
“Only mediocrities progress. An artist revolves in a cycle of masterpieces, the first of which is no less perfect than the last.” – Oscar Wilde, in a letter to the editor of the Pall Mall Gazette, 22 September 1894
Elgar on his Violin Concerto
“It’s good! Awfully emotional! Too emotional, but I love it…” Edward Elgar on his own Violin Concerto Jeremy Pound, “First Violin”, BBC Music Magazine, October 2010, p. 36.
A lock of Beethoven’s hair
Once a devoted admirer, wife of a Vienna pianist, longed for a lock of the composer’s outrageously unkempt hair, and asked a friend to get her one. At his suggestion, Beethoven, who was a practical joker of boorish capabilities, sent her a tuft from the chin of a goat. The trick was discovered, and the […]
Music in the very heart of noise
I frequently hear music in the very heart of noise. — George Gerswhin Goldberg, Isaac, and Garson, Edith. George Gershwin: A Study in American Music. United Kingdom, F. Ungar Publishing Company, 1958, p.139.
Music as an emotional science
Music sets up a certain vibration which unquestionably results in a physical reaction. Eventually the proper vibration for every person will be found and utilized. I like to think of music as an emotional science. — George Gershwin Daniel Albright. Modern and Music: An Anthology of Sources. Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, p. 388.
Climbing Mount Fuji with a cello in hand
“In 2007 Italian cellist Mario Brunello climbed to the summit of Mount Fuji and played selections from Bach’s cello suites, declaring that “Bach’s music comes closest to the absolute and to perfection.” Source: Siblin, Eric (2009) The Cello Suites. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin. p.6.
Stokowski’s orders
A letter from the conductor Leopold Stokowski to Sylvan Levin gives an insight into his sense of humour: Caro Maestro Illustre, Now that you have not a thing to do!!!!! Do you think you would have time to do me a favor and time the whole of Parsifal without cuts?  I suggest you do this […]
Columbine’s Veil
Title: Columbine’s Veil Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: Piano Product medium: PDF score Background: Pierrot, separated from his love Columbine, is weeping in his room. Overcome with sorrow, he falls asleep in the corner. Some friends of Pierrot come to visit. When they eventually find him, they fetch a nearby pianist and suggest waking Pierrot with […]
The Seed That Falls On Good Ground – Psalm 64 (65)
Title: The seed that falls on good ground Text: Psalm 64 (65): 10, 11, 12-13, 14. R. L. 8: 8 Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: SATB and piano Product medium: PDF score and part Sample: