My music is best understood by children and animals.
Igor StravinskyRead
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.
Interpretation
Stravinsky emphasizes that music should be enjoyed and loved rather than just respected.
In this quote, Igor Stravinsky critiques the way music appreciation is often taught, suggesting that the focus should not merely be on respecting music for its technical qualities or historical significance. Instead, he argues that the genuine experience of music comes from developing a deep love and appreciation for it, which allows individuals to connect with it on a more personal and emotional level.
In practice
During a music festival, I shared this quote to emphasize the joy of experiencing live performances.
My music is best understood by children and animals.
Conductors' careers are made for the most part with 'Romantic' music. 'Classic' music eliminates the conductor; we do not remember him in it.
Invention presupposes imagination but should not be confused with it.
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.
A composer is not only an architect but also an inventor, and he should not build houses in which he cannot live.
Music must be listened to; it is not enough to hear it. A duck hears also.
Improvisation has to do with exploring something like two brothers in a room together. You find out things about situations by discovering the things that they aren't saying. It's a way to explore scenes. Sometimes it's more useful than others, but it's always there to see if there's anything that you might improve.
Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work _x000D_ is new, complex, and vital.
The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible.
Let us create extraordinary words, on condition that they be put to the most ordinary use and that the entity they designate be made to exist in the same way as the most common object.
Writing is sacred, other activities are profane, and I don't want them to corrupt my writing.
To stop the flow of music would be like the stopping of time itself, incredible and inconceivable.
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