Learn the rules like a pro“Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist.” Attributed to Pablo Picasso, painter
The piano as furnitureIn the ninteenth century, the piano was not only regarded as a musical instrument but as a part of the decor a room. An article in The Musical Times in February 1893 describes some possible applications: Placed near a bay window, it shuts in the cosiest lovers’ next imaginable. Soft-cushioned window seats that have room […]
Brian Wilson to complete Gershwin songsIn a surprise union of two quintessentially American composers from different eras, one the 1960s mastermind of “Good Vibrations,” the other the Jazz Age creator of “Rhapsody in Blue,” former Beach Boy Brian Wilson has been authorized by the estate of George Gershwin to complete unfinished songs Gershwin left behind when he died in 1937. […]
The Anecdote to Distraction is Art“If you are on a mission to discover what you have to offer, and to bring it out into the world, every moment you spend distracted is a moment you aren’t following your art. It’s a moment you aren’t pursuing your true potential.” — David Kadavy David Kadavy, “The Anecdote to Distraction is Art”, https://steemit.com/productivity/@kadavy/the-antidote-to-distraction-is-art-1515195404-5002096. […]
Recipe for success“A man can succeed at almost anything for which he has unlimited enthusiasm.”— Charles M. Schwab, American businessman Peale, Norman (2003) Enthusiasm Makes the Difference. New York, Fireside, p.4
Evolving recordingsGwilym Gold has released an album that never plays the same way twice. Developed in collaboration with Lexxx and scientists from Goldsmiths University in London, Gold says the system, called Bronze, “makes the music more engaging, similar to a live performance. Every time it’s played, it’s renewing itself.” Mark Savage, “Gwilym Gold releases ‘constantly evolving […]
Guiding concepts of artistic creation“…few of us talk and write about the bigger picture of how our musical and tactical efforts are guided by three distinctly non-musical concepts that don’t get talked and written about often or openly enough: positive vision, abundant thinking, and a sense of self-worth. Thanks to technology, we now live in a world of vast […]
Liszt on BeethovenLiszt on Beethoven’s music, in a letter to Wilhelm von Lenz in 1852: To us musicians the work of Beethoven parallels the pillars of smoke and fire which led the Israelites through the desert, a pillar of smoke to lead us by day, and a pillar of fire to light the night, so that we […]
Saint-Saëns on the art of musicThe artist who does not feel completely satisfied by elegant lines, by harmonious colours, and by a beautiful succession of chords does not understand the art of music. — Camille Saint-Saëns Cited in Milton Cross David Ewan, Encyclopedia of Great Composers and Their Music, volume 2. Double Day, 1969, p.819.
Active listeningListening to music should always be an active process, and those who attend – pregnant verb – concerts, who listen, who respond, who treasure what they hear there, are musicians. They are the ones who do not let music wash over them like a bubble bath but who actively swim in the water. When vibrations […]
