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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Abstraction XVII
Title: Abstraction XVIIComposer: Greg SmithInstrumentation: PianoProduct medium: PDF scoreRelated products: – Abstraction XVII (MP3 recording)
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
Heard but not seenIn 1926, conductor Leopold Stokowski inserted the following into the Philadelphia Orchestra programs: The great conviction has been growing in me that the orchestra and conductor should be unseen, so that on the part of the listener more attention will go to the ear and less to the eyes. The experiment of an invisible orchestra […]
God Mounts His Throne (setting ii) – Psalm 46 (47)Title: God mounts his throne (Setting II) Text: Psalm 46 (47): 2-3, 6-7, 8-9 Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: SATB and organ Related products: – God mounts his throne (Setting II) – SATB, brass, and organ Product medium: PDF score and part SAMPLE:
The two faces of an art work“Every great work of art has two faces: one toward its own time and one toward the future, toward eternity.” — Daniel Barenboim. Cited in: Barenboim, Daniel & Said, Edward (2002) Parallels and Paradoxes: Explorations in Music and Society. New York: Pantheon Books.
Practising at every opportunityThe conductor Stokowski was co-conductor of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. He was rehearsing his own orchestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. The orchestra, however, was used to playing Ravel’s exuberant orchestration. Charles O’Connell recalled: “In the midst of the rehearsal, one of the second violinists busied himself practising the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, which […]
Vaughan Williams on sense of musical citizenshipVaughan Williams wrote a series of articles for the Royal College of Music magazine entitled “Who Wants the English Composer?”. In these, he expresses his advocacy for an exploration of the English musical style: We English composers are always saying, “Here are Wagner, Brahms, Grieg, Tchaikovsky, what fine fellows they are, let us try and […]
The Battle of the SommeTitle: The Battle of the Somme (silent movie score) Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: Piano Product medium: Full score (PDF download) – 80 pages Related products: – The Battle of the Somme (MP3) Background: In 1916 France was struggling to fend off German occupation. It had become apparent that to break the stalemate Britain […]
Blue FlemingoTitle: Blue Flemingo Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: Piano Product medium: PDF score SAMPLE:
After music from a bridge, why not a tower?To mark the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's voyage up the Hudson river in New York, composer Joseph Bertolozzi sampled sounds of percussively hitting various parts of the bridge. He now has his sights set on using the Eiffel Tower. Wakin, Daniel, ""After Music from a Bridge, Why Not A Tower?"", Arts Beat, 8 July […]