My music is best understood by children and animals.
Igor StravinskyRead
A composer is not only an architect but also an inventor, and he should not build houses in which he cannot live.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A composer should create music that reflects their own experiences and emotions.
Igor Stravinsky's quote emphasizes that a composer is not just a designer of sound structures but also a creator of new emotional experiences. By equating composition to architecture, Stravinsky suggests that musicians must infuse their work with authenticity and personal relevance, ensuring that the music they create is something they can genuinely connect with and inhabit, much like a well-built house should be a comfortable home.
Themes
ComposerMusicCreativityAuthenticityEmotion
In practice
Example use cases
In a music lecture discussing the importance of emotional connection in composition.
More from Igor Stravinsky
All quotes βConductors' careers are made for the most part with 'Romantic' music. 'Classic' music eliminates the conductor; we do not remember him in it.
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The trouble with music appreciation in general is that people are taught to have too much respect for music they should be taught to love it instead.
Igor StravinskyRead
Invention presupposes imagination but should not be confused with it.
Igor StravinskyRead
I was born out of due time in the sense that by temperament and talent I should have been more suited for the life of a small Bach, living in anonymity and composing regularly for an established service and for God.
Igor StravinskyRead
Music must be listened to; it is not enough to hear it. A duck hears also.
Igor StravinskyRead
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