Stravinsky explains the beginning of his development of his ear by complimenting his trueness of his ear, that moment where he heard the woman signing it marked the dawn of his consciousness of himself in the role of musician.
“I think it is a thousand times better to compose in direct contact with the physical medium of sound than to work in the abstract medium produced by one’s imagination”.
He was admired by Glinka’s music was so “distinguished and delicate his instrumentation; and by the latter I mean his choice of instruments and his way of combining them”.
(referring to his younger brother) “I was never able to open my heart to him, because, in the first place, my aspirations were too vague to be formulated, and secondly, in my innermost being I feared, notwithstanding our mutual affection, that there would be misunderstandings which would have deeply wounded my pride”.
“rare type of conductor whose sole ambition is to penetrate the spirit and the aim of the composer, and to submerge himself in the score”.
“one blindly accepts truths propounded by those whose prestige is unanimously recognized, especially when this prestige is concerned with the mastery of technique and the art of savoir faire”.
My parents thought me above all of giving me the education necessary to enable me to obtain a post, administrative or otherwise, which would assure me a livelihood.
(Predilections for music) without in the least taking into consideration the degree to which my aptitudes might be developed. This now seems to me quite natural.
Let me make myself clear. I always did, and still do, prefer to achieve my aims and to solve any problems which confront me in the course of my work solely by my own efforts, without having recourse to established processes which do, it is true, facilitate the task, but which must first be learned and then remembered. To learn and remember such things, however useful they might be, always seemed to me dull and boring, I was too lazy for that sort of work, especially as I had little faith in my memory. If that had been better, I should certainly have found my interest, and possibly pleasure, in it.
But I can experience this feeling of pleasure in the very process of work, and in looking forward to the joy that any find or discovery may bring.
I set myself with heart and soul to the task of solving the many problems it contains.
The technical knowledge that I acquired thanks to them, gave me a foundation of incalculable value in its solidity, on which I was able later to establish and develop my own craftsmanship. No matter what the subject may be, there is only one course for the beginner, he must at first accept a discipline imposed from without, but only as the means of obtaining freedom for, and strengthening himself in, his own method of expression.
Had a close relation with Diaghileff that lasted 20 years.
And though he frequently made mistakes or acted foolishly, it was because he had been carried away by passion or temperament- the two forces predominant in him
Efficiency and shrewdness were accompanied by a certain childish ingenuousness. He never bore a grudge. He’s looking after himself.
Benois was a learned connoisseur in matters of art and history and had a talent for making the past live.
Interpretation- a thing that I have horror of
But one cannot reconstitute feelings without the risk of distorting them under the influence of the many changes that one has meanwhile undergone.
The pure soul f the child who falls in love with its song.
“for I consider that music is, by its very nature, essentially powerless to express anything at all whether a feeling, an attitude of mind, a psychological mood, a phenomenon of nature, etc… expression has never been an inherent property of music. If ,as is nearly always the case, music appears to express something, this is only an illusion and not a reality. It is simply an additional attribute which, by tacit and inveterate agreement, we have lent it, thrust open it, as a label, convention- in short, an aspect unconsciously or force of habit, we have come to confuse with its essential being,
Music is the sole domain in which man realizes the present. By the imperfection of his nature, man is doomed to submit to the passage of time- to its categories of past and future- without ever being able to give substance, and therefore stability, to the category of the present.
Music’s purpose is to establish an order in things, the coordination between man and time. Single and most indispensable requirement is construction. This achieved order, which produces in us a unique emotion having nothing in common with our ordinary sensations and our responses to the impression of daily life.
“I have never been able to compose unless sure that no one could hear me”
music should be transmitted not interpreted, because interpretation reveals the personality of the interpreter rather than that of the author, and who can guarantee that such an executants will reflect the author’s vision without distortion?
Unless he has a comprehensive and lively feeling for the present, and unless he consciously participates in the life around him.
For it is only those who are essentially alive who can discover the real life of those who are “dead”
It will be wiser to begin the education of a pupil by first giving him knowledge of what is, and only then tracing history backward, step-by-step, to what has been.
Respect alone remains barren, and can never serve as a productive or creative factor, in order to create there must be a dynamic force, and what force is more potent than love? To me it seems that to ask the question is to answer it.
Fingers are not to be despised: they are great inspirers, and in contact with musical instrument, often give birth to subconscious ideas which might otherwise never come to life.
I had always been aware that I had in me the germs of this same mentality only needing development, and I subsequently deliberately cultivate them.
Dionysian principles: assumes ecstasy to be the final goal- that is to say, the losing of oneself- whereas art demands above all the full consciousness of the artist.
I had not yet got the necessary technique, which I acquired later only with practice.
But as I am by nature always tempted by anything needing prolonged effort, and prone of creating my work for myself, and thus establishing the manner in which I wished it to be played, greatly attracted me, these influences combined to induce me to undertake it.
It was only by habit and sustained effort that I managed, in time, to master my nerves and so to withstand one of the most distressing sensations that I know.
I have come to the conclusion that it is chiefly due to fear of a lapse of memory or of some distraction, however trifling, which might have irreparable consequences.
It is the instrument that inspires his though and determines its substance
It is not with ideas that one makes sonnets but with words.
Beethoven, it is in the quality of his musical material and not in the nature of his ideas that his true greatness lies.
There is no danger of prejudicing one’s own individuality.
The need for restriction, for deliberately submitting to a style, has its source in the very depths of our nature, and is found not only in matters of art, but in every conscious manifestation of human activity. It is the need for order without which nothing can be achieved, and upon the disappearance of which everything disintegrates.
For in music, understanding is given only to those who make an active effort. Passive receptivity is not enough. For one can listen without hearing, just as one can look without seeing. The absence of active effort and the liking acquired for this facility make for laziness.
When people have learned to love music for itself, when they listen with other ears, their enjoyment will be of a far higher and more potent order, and they will be able to judge it on a higher plane and realize its intrinsic value. – Musical development and intellectual culture.
I live neither in the past nor in the future. I am in the present. I cannot know what tomorrow will bring forth. I can know only what the truth is for me today. That is what I am called upon to serve, and I serve it in all lucidity.
“I think it is a thousand times better to compose in direct contact with the physical medium of sound than to work in the abstract medium produced by one’s imagination”.
He was admired by Glinka’s music was so “distinguished and delicate his instrumentation; and by the latter I mean his choice of instruments and his way of combining them”.
(referring to his younger brother) “I was never able to open my heart to him, because, in the first place, my aspirations were too vague to be formulated, and secondly, in my innermost being I feared, notwithstanding our mutual affection, that there would be misunderstandings which would have deeply wounded my pride”.
“rare type of conductor whose sole ambition is to penetrate the spirit and the aim of the composer, and to submerge himself in the score”.
“one blindly accepts truths propounded by those whose prestige is unanimously recognized, especially when this prestige is concerned with the mastery of technique and the art of savoir faire”.
My parents thought me above all of giving me the education necessary to enable me to obtain a post, administrative or otherwise, which would assure me a livelihood.
(Predilections for music) without in the least taking into consideration the degree to which my aptitudes might be developed. This now seems to me quite natural.
Let me make myself clear. I always did, and still do, prefer to achieve my aims and to solve any problems which confront me in the course of my work solely by my own efforts, without having recourse to established processes which do, it is true, facilitate the task, but which must first be learned and then remembered. To learn and remember such things, however useful they might be, always seemed to me dull and boring, I was too lazy for that sort of work, especially as I had little faith in my memory. If that had been better, I should certainly have found my interest, and possibly pleasure, in it.
But I can experience this feeling of pleasure in the very process of work, and in looking forward to the joy that any find or discovery may bring.
I set myself with heart and soul to the task of solving the many problems it contains.
The technical knowledge that I acquired thanks to them, gave me a foundation of incalculable value in its solidity, on which I was able later to establish and develop my own craftsmanship. No matter what the subject may be, there is only one course for the beginner, he must at first accept a discipline imposed from without, but only as the means of obtaining freedom for, and strengthening himself in, his own method of expression.
Had a close relation with Diaghileff that lasted 20 years.
And though he frequently made mistakes or acted foolishly, it was because he had been carried away by passion or temperament- the two forces predominant in him
Efficiency and shrewdness were accompanied by a certain childish ingenuousness. He never bore a grudge. He’s looking after himself.
Benois was a learned connoisseur in matters of art and history and had a talent for making the past live.
Interpretation- a thing that I have horror of
But one cannot reconstitute feelings without the risk of distorting them under the influence of the many changes that one has meanwhile undergone.
The pure soul f the child who falls in love with its song.
“for I consider that music is, by its very nature, essentially powerless to express anything at all whether a feeling, an attitude of mind, a psychological mood, a phenomenon of nature, etc… expression has never been an inherent property of music. If ,as is nearly always the case, music appears to express something, this is only an illusion and not a reality. It is simply an additional attribute which, by tacit and inveterate agreement, we have lent it, thrust open it, as a label, convention- in short, an aspect unconsciously or force of habit, we have come to confuse with its essential being,
Music is the sole domain in which man realizes the present. By the imperfection of his nature, man is doomed to submit to the passage of time- to its categories of past and future- without ever being able to give substance, and therefore stability, to the category of the present.
Music’s purpose is to establish an order in things, the coordination between man and time. Single and most indispensable requirement is construction. This achieved order, which produces in us a unique emotion having nothing in common with our ordinary sensations and our responses to the impression of daily life.
“I have never been able to compose unless sure that no one could hear me”
music should be transmitted not interpreted, because interpretation reveals the personality of the interpreter rather than that of the author, and who can guarantee that such an executants will reflect the author’s vision without distortion?
Unless he has a comprehensive and lively feeling for the present, and unless he consciously participates in the life around him.
For it is only those who are essentially alive who can discover the real life of those who are “dead”
It will be wiser to begin the education of a pupil by first giving him knowledge of what is, and only then tracing history backward, step-by-step, to what has been.
Respect alone remains barren, and can never serve as a productive or creative factor, in order to create there must be a dynamic force, and what force is more potent than love? To me it seems that to ask the question is to answer it.
Fingers are not to be despised: they are great inspirers, and in contact with musical instrument, often give birth to subconscious ideas which might otherwise never come to life.
I had always been aware that I had in me the germs of this same mentality only needing development, and I subsequently deliberately cultivate them.
Dionysian principles: assumes ecstasy to be the final goal- that is to say, the losing of oneself- whereas art demands above all the full consciousness of the artist.
I had not yet got the necessary technique, which I acquired later only with practice.
But as I am by nature always tempted by anything needing prolonged effort, and prone of creating my work for myself, and thus establishing the manner in which I wished it to be played, greatly attracted me, these influences combined to induce me to undertake it.
It was only by habit and sustained effort that I managed, in time, to master my nerves and so to withstand one of the most distressing sensations that I know.
I have come to the conclusion that it is chiefly due to fear of a lapse of memory or of some distraction, however trifling, which might have irreparable consequences.
It is the instrument that inspires his though and determines its substance
It is not with ideas that one makes sonnets but with words.
Beethoven, it is in the quality of his musical material and not in the nature of his ideas that his true greatness lies.
There is no danger of prejudicing one’s own individuality.
The need for restriction, for deliberately submitting to a style, has its source in the very depths of our nature, and is found not only in matters of art, but in every conscious manifestation of human activity. It is the need for order without which nothing can be achieved, and upon the disappearance of which everything disintegrates.
For in music, understanding is given only to those who make an active effort. Passive receptivity is not enough. For one can listen without hearing, just as one can look without seeing. The absence of active effort and the liking acquired for this facility make for laziness.
When people have learned to love music for itself, when they listen with other ears, their enjoyment will be of a far higher and more potent order, and they will be able to judge it on a higher plane and realize its intrinsic value. – Musical development and intellectual culture.
I live neither in the past nor in the future. I am in the present. I cannot know what tomorrow will bring forth. I can know only what the truth is for me today. That is what I am called upon to serve, and I serve it in all lucidity.