My sole recreations consist in dancing English hornpipes and cutting capers. Italy is a land of sleep; I am always drowsy here.
Wolfgang Amadeus MozartRead
Nevertheless the passions, whether violent or not, should never be so expressed as to reach the point of causing disgust; and music, even in situations of the greatest horror, should never be painful to the ear but should flatter and charm it, and thereby always remain music.
Interpretation
Music should always be beautiful and pleasing, even in the most difficult circumstances.
In this quote, Mozart emphasizes that music is an art form that should consistently be harmonious and beautiful, regardless of the emotions or themes it conveys. He argues that even in the face of horror or intense passion, the essence of music should be to charm and flatter the listener's ear, suggesting that true artistry transcends even the darkest of situations.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about the role of art in society during turbulent times.
My sole recreations consist in dancing English hornpipes and cutting capers. Italy is a land of sleep; I am always drowsy here.
My dear sister! I’m amazed to discover that you can compose so delightfully. In a word, your Lied is beautiful. You must compose more often.
I hope never to marry in this way; I wish to make my wife happy, but not to become rich by her means, so I will let things alone and enjoy my golden freedom till I am so well off that I can support both wife and children.
I thank my God for graciously granting me the opportunity of learning that death is the key which unlocks the door to our true happiness.
I am one of those who will go on doing till all doings are at an end.
My Constanze is the virtuous, honourable, discreet, and faithful darling of her honest and kindly-disposed Mozart.
The anarchist painter is not the one who will create anarchist pictures, but the one who will fight with all his individuality against official conventions.
Imagine an eye unruled by man-made laws of perspective, an eye unprejudiced by compositional logic, an eye which does not respond to the name of everything but which must know each object encountered in life through an adventure of perception. How many colors are there in a field of grass to the crawling baby unaware of ‘Green?’ How many rainbows can light create for the untutored eye?
A good writer possesses not only his own spirit but also the spirit of his friends.
It is entirely possible to create something totally artificial within the realms of rock and roll.
He was intrigued by the power of words, not the literary words that filled the books in the library but the sharp, staccato words that went into the writing of news stories. Words that went for the jugular. Active verbs that danced and raced on the page.
The way someone who's being photographed presents himself to the camera, and the effect of the photographer's response on that presence, is what the making of a portrait is all about.
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