The ghost of PaganiniThe Belgian violinist Eugène Yasÿe frightened Busoni by playing the Bach Chaconne and Paganini Caprices on a kit violin in the darkened passages of a hotel. ”It was like the ghost of Paganini, purposely exaggerating all the worst mannerisms of the typical virtuoso, and Busoni could never forget the sight of Ysaÿe’s vast bulk and […]
A world of emotions“We find a world of emotions and ideas created with only the simplest of materials.” – Laurence Lesser, cellist Cited in: Siblin, Eric (2009) The Cello Suites. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin. p.3.
At the core of Beethoven’s “Diabelli” Variations, an esoteric and astonishing piano piece lasting some 50 minutes, is one of the intriguing mysteries of music history. Why did Beethoven, during the difficult last decade of his life, when he was deaf, chronically ill and often in financial straits, become nearly obsessed with writing an extensive […]
World order“The world is not to be put in order; the world is order, incarnate. It is for us to harmonize with this order.” – Henry Miller, American writer and painter
Wie melodien zieht es mir (Brahms)Composer: Johannes Brahms Text: Klaus Groth Title: Wie melodien zieht es mir (Like melodies it pulls me), op. 105, no. 1 Instrumentation: Cello and piano Product medium: PDF score and part Sample:
Stokowski and his audienceThe conductor Leopold Stokowski had a love hate relationship with his audience: He wooed them and cajoled them, flattered them and then gently reproved them. When they grew fidgety, he shamed them into attentiveness and concentration. “Please don’t do that,” he once admonished an audience of program shufflers. “We work hard all week to give […]
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
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.
OpportunitiesNo man can tell what the future may bring forth, and small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises. — Demosthenes, Ad Leptinem, 162 Harbottle, Thomas Benfield (1897) Dictionary of Quotations (Classical). London: S. Sonnenschein & co, p. 51. Digitally archived at https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofquot00harbiala/page/511/mode/2up, accessed 12 September 2021.
