Satie’s daySatie wrote that “An artist must organise his life.” In 1913, he set said out a schedule in which he stated he would be inspired between 10:23 and 11:47am, and 3:12 to 4:10pm. The timetable allowed for daily house riding, and various other activities such as fencing, reflection, immobility, visits, contemplation, swimming, etc. The day […]
Rossini and food“After doing nothing, I know no more delightful occupation of eating, eat properly, I mean. The appetite is for the stomach what love is for the heart. The stomach is the choirmaster who governs and operates a large orchestra of the passions. An empty stomach is the bassoon or flute in which discontent grumbles or […]
Gershwin and RavelRavel, touring America in 1928, was approached by George Gershwin for composition lessons. Ravel refused, stating “you would only lose your own spontaneity and end up by writing bad Ravel!” Cited in: James, Burnett (1983) Ravel: His Life and Times. New York: Midas Books, p.120
The art of playing the triangleGeorge Plimpton, a writer and sportsman, asked if he could play in the New York Philharmonic for a month to write about the workings of an orchestra. Leonard Bernstein assigned him to the percussion section. The principal percussionist, Walter Rosenberg, recalled his experience: During rehearsals I would lean over and point to where we were […]
Behind the ScreenTitle: Behind the Screen (silent film soundtrack) Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: Piano Product medium: PDF score (45 pages) Background: Written by: Vincent Bryan, Charlie Chaplin, Maverick Terrell Starring: Eric Campbell, Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance Film released: 1916 Sample:
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 […]
Mozart’s musical aestheticsMozart’s comments on the musical style of his piano concertos (K. 413-415) portray his underlying aesthetic principle that music should be clear and accessible: I still have 2 concertos to write to complete my subscription concerts. – These concertos are a happy medium between what’s too difficult and too easy – they are Brilliant – […]
Nikolaj Zainder performs Elgar’s Violin Concerto on the original violinIn 2010, Violinist Nikolaj Znaider performed Elgar’s Violin Concerto on the same 1741 violin in which Kriesler premiered the work on a hundred years before. Znaider was not worried about comparisons to Kriesler’s original performance: “he way I think of music is that it really is something that is played in the moment – it’s […]
Glenn Gould on recordingPianist Glenn Gould discussed the recording process with Yehudi Menuhin completing the playback of a Bach gigue: Now, Yehudi, you’ve got to admit that you would not be likely to encounter a sound like that in the concert hall… The point is that, if I were to play that piece in a concert hall, as […]
Frank Churchill in production meetingsAfter joining the Disney studios in 1930, Frank Churchill composed music for animated shorts and feature films. His output includes Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Bambi, and The Three Little Pigs (featuing “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf). Animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston recalled in Disney Animation: Walt [Disney] used to claim […]
