My chief virtue (or if you like, defect) has been a tireless lifelong search for an original, individual musical idiom. I detest imitation, I detest hackneyed devices.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the value of originality and the rejection of imitation in artistic expression.
Sergei Prokofiev emphasizes the importance of striving for a unique and personal musical style throughout his life. He expresses a strong aversion to imitation and clichΓ©d methods, highlighting that true artistic integrity comes from individual creativity and the continuous search for one's own voice in music.
In practice
In a speech about innovation at a music festival.
In my view, the composer,_x000D_ just as the poet, the sculptor or the painter,_x000D_ is in duty bound to serve Man, the people._x000D_ He must beautify life and defend it._x000D_ He must be a citizen first and foremost,_x000D_ so that his art might consciously extol human life_x000D_ and lead man to a radiant future.
The difference between noise and music is in what the musician does with the sounds.
If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph: THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD WAS MUSIC
Art is the most beautiful of all lies.
I have never heard a dancer asking for advice about how to stay focused on her footwork, or a painter complaining about the dull day-to-day task of painting. What task worth doing isn't worth daily effort? Do you think Michelangelo was having fun the whole time he was on his back painting the Sistine Chapel's ceiling?
A classic is the term given to any book which comes to represent the whole universe, a book on a par with ancient talismans.
I think that when we look at something that's well acted and a story that's well told, it allows us to be a mirror of who we are as human beings and as a culture, and offers a glimpse of where we're headed.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.