Every day one should at least hear one little song, read one good poem, see one fine painting and–if at all possible–speak a few sensible words.
Goethe, Johann (translated by Frederick Ungar & Heinz Goethe, Johann W., Frederick Ungar, and Heinz Norden). Goethe’s world view : presented in his reflections and maxims : with new English translations and the German originals. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co, 1963, p.131.
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Each day, according to Goethe
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Why we read
We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel—or have done and thought and felt; or might do and think and feel—is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become. A person who had never known another human […]
Steps“There is no one giant step that does it. It’s a lot of little steps.” — Peter A. Cohen Ford Saeks, Superpower! How to Think, Act, and Perform with Less Effort and Better Results, New Jersey, John Wiley & Sons, 2012, p. 198
ScoresBrass Brass ensemble Trombone Piano Piano solo Piano method Orchestra and concert band Concert band Strings Cello and piano String ensemble Vocal and choral General Sacred Woodwind Bassoon
Composing for elephantsIgor Stravinsky’s Circus Polka: For a Young Elephant to be performed by young elephants (a collaboration with American choreographer George Balanchine. It ended up being performed by older elephants – the main star being Big Modoc (41 years of age). Each elephant wore a join pink tutu. Source: Dixon, Gavin “Igor Stravinsky’s pachyderm polka”, Classic […]
The fire of knowledge“When teaching, light a fire, don’t fill a bucket.” – Dan Snow, television presenter. Cited at QuotationsBook
Gershwin’s romantic sideRodney Greenberg describes a side of George Gershwin’s “romantic side”: He wrote a little waltz-song, which he would sing and play to his current dating partner. It was, in effect, what his friend Kitty Carlisle (who later married playwright Moss Hart) described as his “mating call”, because he left a blank space in the lyrics […]
Abstraction XTitle: Abstraction XComposer: Greg SmithPerformer: Greg Smith (7 August 2010)Instrumentation: PianoProduct medium: MP3Related products:– Abstraction X (PDF score)
Figaro and an egg“I always have a hard-boiled egg. A three-minute egg. Do you know how I time it? I bring it to the boil and then conduct the overture to The Marriage of Figaro. Three minutes exactly.” Sir John Barrirolli Cited in: The Music Lover’s Quotation Book. Ed. Kathleen Kimball, Robin Peterson & Kathleen Johnston. Toronto (Canada): […]
Skepticism“Great intellects are skeptical.” – Friedrich Nietzsche, Antichrist, 54. Digitally archived at https://www.gutenberg.org/files/19322/19322-h/19322-h.htm, accessed 12 September 2021
Ombra mai fu from Serse (Handel)Title: “Ombra mai fu” (from Serse) Composer: George Frederic Handel Arranger: Greg Smith Instrumentation: Cello quartet Product medium: PDF score and parts Sample: