Appreciating beautyMusic exists only in a passing of time, racing past us like the mid-nineenth-century trains Ruskin so hated. It is utterly non-fixed, and to focus on one moment is to destroy the whole. It is a forest that we have to pass through, not a single tree that we can contemplate or capture. But, if […]
Szymanowski’s dogsThe Polish composer Karol Szymanowski was brought up in very musical environment: he had a dogs named “Scherzo” and “Crotchet”. Source: Palmer, Christopher (1983) Szymanowski. London: BBC, p. 9.
A great teacher“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” – William Ward, author Cited at QuotationsBook
The importance of music in pantomime“In pantomime every single episode, each movement in each episode (its plastic modulations)—as well as the gestures of every character and the groupings of the ensemble—are determined precisely by the music, by its changes in tempo, its modulations, its overall structure. In pantomime the rhythm of the movements, gestures, and groupings synchronized precisely with the […]
How not to get an audienceSatie’s ballet Relâche (1924) had trouble pulling a crowd: the title translates as “this performances is cancelled”. Source: Lawrence, Christopher (2001) Swooning. Sydney: Random House, p.70.
The pros and cons of imagination“My imagination makes me human and makes me a fool; it gives me all the world and exiles me from it.” Ursula Kroeber Le Guin, American author. Cited at: Quotationsbook
Bacall on imagination“Imagination is the highest kite one can fly.” – Lauren Bacall, American actress Cited at: QuotationsBook
The effort is better than rest“Writing music is seventy-five per cent an intellectual activity. This effort is often more pleasant for me than having a rest.” Conversation with Ravel, recalled by Robert de Fragny, Echo liberté, 7 November 1950. Cited in: Nichols, Roger (1987) Ravel Remembered. London: Faber & Faber., p. 61.
A pen and a hen“A pen is to me as a beak is to a hen.” John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, in an interview with Philip Norman. “The Prevalence of Hobbits”, The New York Times, 15 January 1967, http://movies2.nytimes.com/books/01/02/11/specials/tolkien-mag67.html (accessed 20 July 2020)
Performance practice issues in Russian Piano MusicABSTRACT The nineteenth and twentieth centuries witnessed the rapid growth of musical culture in Russia. This resulted in a large repertoire of piano music — ranging from miniatures to virtuosic etudes and sonatas. Growing out of the nineteenth century romantic tradition, and highly influenced by the social conditions of the time, Russian composers developed a distinctive style which […]
