Mozart’s masterpieces

“Mozart makes you believe in God – much more than going to church – because it cannot be by chance that such a phenomenon arrives into this world and then passes after thirty-six years, leaving behind such an unbounded number of unparalleled masterpieces.”

Sir Georg Solti

Source: Kelly, Henry & Foley, John (1998) Classic FM Musical Anecdotes.  London: Hodder & Stoughton, p. 63.


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It’s the page turner’s fault
Several years ago, Mr. Kalichstein hired a young music student who kept reaching across the score to turn pages from the bottom right corner, in the process obscuring several measures of the concerto. “Take it from the top!” the frustrated Mr. Kalichstein finally hissed; reflexively, the page turner flipped the score back to the beginning. […]
Entertaining to educate
“I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained.” — Walt Disney L. Howes, “20 Lessons from Walt Disney on Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Chasing Your Dreams”, Forbes, 17 July 2012, https://www.forbes.com/sites/lewishowes/2012/07/17/20-business-quotes-and-lessons-from-walt-disney/?sh=4b3af9d44ba9.
Submit file for audio to text transcription
Notes: If you have multiple files to upload, either compress them to a single .zip file or submit a form for each file). If you get an error message during upload, your file size may be too large. Trying compressing the file as a .zip file. Alternatively, get a free Dropbox account, upload the file, […]
The ideal and the played performance
Some conductors put all the emphasis on the melodic line, while others are fanatics about rhythm, but there are very few conductors who are uniquely able to look at the score and hear every part before it actually happens. With the very best of conductors, it’s as though there are two performances going on simultaneously. […]
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 […]
Abstraction XII
Title: Abstraction XII Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: Piano Product medium: PDF score Sample:  
Capturing the experience of being alive
In attempting to capture something of the experience of being alive, the words themselves must be alive. Words, when living and breathing are like musical chords. The full resonance of the chord or phrase must be allowed to be heard in all of its suggestive imprecision. We must attempt in our use of language in…our […]
Quotes
QUICK LINKS: Audience reception Composers General Performance practice Performers Style Symbolism Teaching methods The creative process The experience of art The purpose of the arts Work ethic Works See also: ANECDOTES AUDIENCE RECEPTION Quick links COMPOSERS Quick links GENERAL Quick links PERFORMANCE PRACTICE Quick links PERFORMERS Quick links STYLE Quick links SYMBOLISM Quick links TEACHING […]
Beethoven’s prank
Beethoven was a musician for the Electoral court and chapel in Bonn. Franz Wegeler, a friend of of Beethoven’s, recounted an incident where the young Beethoven was to accompany a singer, Ferdinand Heller, in a church service. Heller prided himself on being able to sing in tune, no matter how complicated the accompaniment. Beethoven asked Heller if he […]
Paderewski, the dandy
Overheard in a New York street car:— Average Young Man (to neighbour): “Everything they say about Paderewski is true. He’s a perfect genius. Why, he played fourteen pieces and did not once look at the programme. Yet he played straight ahead and never once forgot what piece was to come next. I tell you the […]