Music is an art that touches the depth of human existence; an art of sounds that crosses all borders.
Daniel BarenboimRead
You can't expect someone born into a family with no music... to understand when I'm conducting the Schoenberg Variations.
Interpretation
Understanding music often requires a background in it, which not everyone has.
Daniel Barenboim highlights the importance of context and exposure in appreciating complex art forms, such as music. He suggests that without a background in music, it can be challenging for some individuals to comprehend the nuances of sophisticated compositions like the Schoenberg Variations.
In practice
During a lecture on contemporary classical music, this quote can emphasize the importance of musical exposure.
Music is an art that touches the depth of human existence; an art of sounds that crosses all borders.
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.
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.
Playing and listening to music gives you a sense of fulfilment because you have to put everything in you at its disposal.
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.
The greatness of a musician is measured by the degree of fanaticism he brings to his playing.
He was very much a man of moods, possibly owing to what is styled the artistic temperment. I have never seen, myself, why the possession of artistic ability should be supposed to excuse a man from a decent exercise of self-control.
Graphic design will save the world right after rock and roll does.
There must be so many people who have various artistic talents that, for whatever reason, just have no way of expressing them. Either they have no support from their family or they live in a part of the world, maybe they've never heard a piano or seen a piano.
In music, you ain't really got to be able to sing. In comedy, you may be cute, you may be able to add a little extra to your routine, but if you're not funny, no one's really rocking with you - and if you're a black woman, you better be hilarious. As usual, we always have to do the most.
All things of beauty can speak to us of God, and I'm very happy to listen to and be inspired by people of every religious background.
One of the greatest experiences I ever had was listening to a conversation with Joni Mitchell and Wayne Shorter. Just to hear them talking, my mouth was open. They understand each other perfectly, and they make these leaps and jumps because they don't have to explain anything.
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