If they say they don't like the way I play Beethoven, then I can swallow that, and maybe they're right. But if they don't like what I've written, then it's about me.
Stephen HoughRead
In Britten or Berg, there's a tension between the sweet and the sour, between the familiar and the unfamiliar, the tonal and the atonal, the happy and the sad. That, to me, is what all western art is about - that tension. It's why we want to say anything at all.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote describes the inherent tension in western art that reflects the contrasts of emotions and concepts.
Stephen Hough highlights the complexity of western art, emphasizing the coexistence of opposing emotions and ideas such as sweetness and bitterness, familiarity and novelty, harmony and dissonance. This tension is what drives artistic expression, allowing for a deeper exploration of the human experience and the desire to communicate profound truths.
Themes
ArtTensionEmotionsWesternExpression
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the role of contrast in art during a lecture on music theory.
More from Stephen Hough
All quotes →Unlike sport, music is not about winning or keeping fit or promoting your town or school; it's about celebrating, to a level approaching ecstasy, the deepest human longings.
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Life is an incurable disease leading to death, but it's also an unrequested gift, which, if we can manage to keep giving it away to others, can keep giving back everything to us.
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All things of beauty can speak to us of God, and I'm very happy to listen to and be inspired by people of every religious background.
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Live in the present moment. The past and future are nonexistent. Only the present can be grasped or, better, embraced.
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There are artists who delight listeners with their wild and daring individuality; there are others who uncover the written score with reverence. There are few who can do both.
Stephen HoughRead
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