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.
Composition is for the most part an effort of slow diligence and steady perseverance, to which the mind is dragged by necessity or resolution, and from which the attention is every moment starting to more delightful amusements.
An image is not simply a trademark, a design, a slogan or an easily remembered picture. It is a studiously crafted personality profile of an individual, institution, corporation, product or service.
The text loses its virginity simply by being staged: it's no longer the abstract ideal version; it's an event.
I love rock-n-roll. I think it's an exciting art form. It's revolutionary. Still revolutionary and it changed people. It changed their hearts. But yeah, even rock-n-roll has a lot of rubbish, really bad music.
Some split between the inner world and outer world is common to all behaviour, and the need to bridge the gap is the source of creative behaviour.
At different moments you see with different eyes. You see differently in the morning than you do in the evening. In addition, how you see is also dependent on your emotional state. Because of this, a motif can be seen in many different ways, and this is what makes art interesting.
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