I feel like a ghost wandering in a world grown alien. I cannot cast out the old way of writing and I cannot acquire the new. I have made an intense effort to feel the musical manner of today, but it will not come to me.
Sergei RachmaninoffRead
What is Music? How do you define it? Music is a calm moonlit night, the rustle of leaves in Summer. Music is the far off peal of bells at dusk! Music comes straight from the heart and talks only to the heart: it is Love! Music is the Sister of Poetry and her Mother is sorrow!
Interpretation
What this quote means
Music is an emotional expression that connects deeply to the human experience.
This quote by Sergei Rachmaninoff encapsulates the essence of music as an art form that transcends mere sound, describing it as a reflection of nature and emotions. It portrays music not only as a serene experience akin to a calm moonlit night or the sound of rustling leaves, but also as a profound connection from the heart, intertwining feelings of love, poetry, and even sorrow in its creation and appreciation.
Themes
MusicEmotionArtLoveNature
In practice
Example use cases
A speaker at a music festival could use this quote to highlight the emotional connection of songs.
More from Sergei Rachmaninoff
All quotes →The new kind of music seems to create not from the heart but from the head. Its composers think rather than feel. They have not the capacity to make their works exalt - they meditate, protest, analyze, reason, calculate and brood, but they do not exalt.
Sergei RachmaninoffRead
Music is enough for a lifetime - but a lifetime is not enough for music.
Sergei RachmaninoffRead
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