An art gathers new material usually by an original rejection of old formulae, a gesture of negation. At the beginning, this gesture is conscious, defiant, it lacks any other reason for existence than the very healthy one that dogma is death. In the turmoil of growth and expansion, this negation and denial loses its identity as such, and is metamorphosed into a positive entity; the fruit of the gesture remains, and is welded into the body of the old material.
H. Pollack, Marc Blitzstein: His Life, His Work, His World, New York, Oxford University Press, p.36.
— Marc Blitzstein
New art and the old formulae
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George Sand on Chopin’s compositional process
“His creation was spontaneous and miraculous. He found it without seeking it, without forseeing it. It came on his piano suddenly, complete, sublime, or it sang in his head during a walk when he was impatient to play it to himself. But then he began the most heart-rending labor I ever saw. It was a […]
Misprints remain“Some misprints remain on my scores, because for some reason I have always been in a rush to get the proofs to the publisher by the deadline. In the orchestral parts everything has usually been corrected.” Jean Sibelius, to Jussi Jalas, 27th July 1942 Cited at: www.sibelius.fi [accessed 31 Mar 2010].
The Lord is my Shepherd – Psalm 22 (23)Title: The Lord is my shepherd Text: Psalm 22 (23) Related settings: – I shall live in the house of the Lord (Psalm 22; Greg Smith) – SATB and piano (PDF score) Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: SATB and piano Product medium: PDF score and part Sample:
Bruckner’s dogSome of Anton Bruckner’s students decided to play a trick on him. While he was out to lunch, they played music on the piano for Bruckner’s dog. As one of them played a motive from Richard Wagner’s music, the others chased the dog around the room and slapped him. But when they played from Bruckner’s […]
Writing music is easier than words"I would rather write 10,000 notes than one letter of the alphabet."' Beethoven. Letter, 28 November 1820. Cited in: Kelly, Henry & Foley, John (1998) Classic FM: Musical Anecdotes. London: Hodder & Stouhgtan, p.68.
Our modernized world needs music“Our modernized minds need to be musicalized. We have defied the intellect … and developed only half of man’s possibilities. There is no other human activity that asks for such a harmonious cooperation of “intellect” and “soul” as artistic creation, especially music.” Ernst Levy, Swiss composer, musicologist, pianist and conductor. Cited in: Kimball, K., Petersen, […]
Mozart improvisingIn 1777, Mozart was having lunch with his uncle at the Holy Cross Convent in Ausburg. Mozart played a sinfoni and Vanhall’s Violin Concerto in B. In the evening, at supper, he performed his Strasbourg concerto, a keyboard prelude and his Fischer Variations (K179). It was suggested to the deacon of the Holy Cross Conen, […]
Purpose of the artsMozart: the myth versus the manWe often focus too much on the myth of Mozart, the myth of the prodigy and the myth of the genius – but as he writes in some of his letters, he often feels totally misunderstood and that people don’t give him credit for all the tireless work which he does. In one letter he […]
It is who you are“Face the facts of being who you are, for that is what changes what you are.” Søren Kierkegaard, Danish writer. Cited at QuotationsBook