Understanding the world

“If we understood the world, we would realize that there is a logic of harmony underlying its manifold apparent dissonances.”

Jean Sibelius, in conversation with Gustav Mahler, 1907.

Cited in: Henry Thomas & Dana Lee Thomas Living Biographies of Great Composers. Garden City (NY): Blue Ribbon, [1940] 1946) p. 309.  [Cited at Wikiquote.]

Posted

in

by

Greg

Tags:

,

Featured Content

Abstraction XIV
Title: Abstraction XIV Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: Piano Product medium: PDF score Related products: – Abstraction XIV (mp3)This item is currently not in print SAMPLE:
Forever I will Sing the Goodness of the Lord – Psalm 88 (89)
Title: Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord (Setting I) Text: Psalm 88 (89) Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: SATB and organ     Related products:     – Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord (SATB, brass, and organ) Product medium: PDF score and parts SAMPLE:
The soul and speech
“There is no real teacher who in practice does not believe in the existence of the soul, or in a magic that acts on it through speech.” Allan Bloom (1987) The closing of the American mind: How higher education has failed democracy and impoverished the souls of today’s students.  New York: Simon Simon and Schuster, […]
Woodwind
Bassoon
The art of pedalling
The one bee in my bonnet is over-pedalling, and I give my students a hard time about that. It’s the lack of being able to play a true legato with the fingers.  People rely on the pedal for that, and the pedal is not there for that.  The pedal is for putting the gloss on.  […]
How not to get an audience
Satie’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.
Nick Cave on the creative process
Worry less about what you make — that will mostly look after itself, and is to some extent beyond your control, and perhaps even none of your business — and devote yourself to nourishing this animating spirit. Bring all your enthusiasm to bear on the development of that good and essential force. This is done […]
Real genius
“Real genius is nothing else but the supernatural virtue of humility in the domain of thought.” Simone Wells, French philosopher and mystic. Cited at QuotationsBook
Debussy’s reception in England
In 1908-9, Claude Debussy made two appearances conducting his own works in England.  The Musical Times reported on the occasions. The report on the first concert: Nothing could have been heartier than the applause which greeted M. Claude Debussy as he stepped on to the platform at Queen’s Hall on February 1.  The warmth of […]
Practice slowly
“One must practice slowly, then more slowly and finally slowly.” – Camille Saint-Saëns Cited in: The Piano Quarterly, 1974, p. 24.