Music is an art that touches the depth of human existence; an art of sounds that crosses all borders.
Daniel BarenboimRead
I think the most important thing for a listener is to realize that he, too, should not listen to music in a passive way; that if you sit in a concert hall and expect to be moved or taken off your seat by the music, it will not happen.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Active listening is essential to fully experience and appreciate music.
This quote emphasizes the importance of engaging with music rather than passively consuming it. Daniel Barenboim suggests that to truly be moved by music, listeners must actively participate in the experience, implying that deeper connections can only be formed through engagement and intent.
Themes
ListeningMusicEngagementConcertExperience
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about active listening in music appreciation classes.
More from Daniel Barenboim
All quotes →You can't expect someone born into a family with no music... to understand when I'm conducting the Schoenberg Variations.
Daniel BarenboimRead
For me personally, Elliott Carter was and remains one of the most meaningful composers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries because he represents substance. He was the living proof of uncompromising, complex music, which at first seems inaccessible. But it becomes accessible if one digs in and sees the development through.
Daniel BarenboimRead
When we talk about music, we talk about our reaction to it. One person might say that music is so poetic, while another says it's all mathematics. Yet another might say it's about sensuality, and so on. That's all true. But music is not just one of these things. It's everything all at once.
Daniel BarenboimRead
Playing and listening to music gives you a sense of fulfilment because you have to put everything in you at its disposal.
Daniel BarenboimRead
You have to really have the will to hang onto the first note as it is being played, and then really stay with it and take the flight, as it were, you know, for the duration of the piece.
Daniel BarenboimRead
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