The Classical Music Book

Contents......Page 8
12 INTRODUCTION......Page 14
EARLY MUSIC 1000–1400......Page 20
24 Ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la......Page 24
26 We should sing psalms on a ten-string psaltery......Page 28
28 To sing is to pray twice......Page 30
32 Tandaradei, sweetly sang the nightingale......Page 34
36 Music is a science that makes you laugh, sing, and dance......Page 38
RENAISSANCE 1400–1600......Page 40
42 Not a single piece of music composed before the last 40 years … is worth hearing......Page 44
43 Tongue, proclaim the mystery of the glorious body......Page 45
44 Hear the voyce and prayer......Page 46
46 The eternal father of Italian music......Page 48
52 That is the nature of hymns—they make us want to repeat them......Page 54
54 All the airs and madrigals … whisper softness......Page 56
55 This feast … did even ravish and stupefie all those strangers that never heard the like......Page 57
56 My lute, awake!......Page 58
BAROQUE 1600–1750......Page 60
62 One of the most magnificent and expensefull diversions......Page 64
64 Music must move the whole man......Page 66
70 Lully merits with good reason the title of prince of French musicians......Page 72
72 He had a peculiar genius to express the energy of English words......Page 74
78 The object of churches is not the bawling of choristers......Page 80
84 What the English like is something they can beat time to......Page 86
80 The new Orpheus of our times......Page 82
82 The uniting of the French and Italian styles must create the perfection of music......Page 84
90 Do not expect any profound intention, but rather an ingenious jesting with art......Page 92
92 Spring has come, and with it gaiety......Page 94
98 The end and final aim of all music should be none other than the glory of God......Page 100
106 Telemann is above all praise......Page 108
107 His whole heart and soul were in his harpsichord......Page 109
108 Bach is like an astronomer, who … finds the most wonderful stars......Page 110
CLASSICAL 1750–1820......Page 114
116 Its forte is like thunder, its crescendo a cataract......Page 118
118 The most moving act in all of opera......Page 120
120 We must play from the soul, not like trained birds......Page 122
122 I was forced to become original......Page 124
128 The most tremendous genius raised Mozart above all masters......Page 130
132 The object of the piano is to substitute one performer for a whole orchestra......Page 134
134 We walk, by the power of music, in joy through death’s dark night......Page 136
138 I live only in my notes......Page 140
ROMANTIC 1810–1920......Page 144
146 The violinist isthat peculiarlyhuman phenomenon …half tiger, half poet......Page 148
148 Give me a laundry list, and I will set it to music......Page 150
149 Music is truly love itself......Page 151
150 No one feels another’s grief, no one understands another’s joy......Page 152
156 Music is like a dream. One that I cannot hear......Page 158
162 Instrumentation is at the head of the march......Page 164
164 Simplicity is the final achievement......Page 166
166 My symphonies would have reached Opus 100 if I had written them down......Page 168
170 The last note was drowned … in a unanimous volley of plaudits......Page 172
174 I love Italian opera—it’s so reckless......Page 176
176 Who holds the devil, let him hold him well......Page 178
178 And the dancers whirl around gaily in the waltz’s giddy mazes......Page 180
179 I live in music like a fish in water......Page 181
180 Opera must make people weep, feel horrified, die......Page 182
188 He … comes as if sent straight from God......Page 190
190 The notes dance up there on the stage......Page 192
192 A symphony must be like the world. It must contain everything......Page 194
194 Emotional art is a kind of illness......Page 196
198 If a composer could say what he had to say in words, he would not bother saying it in music......Page 200
NATIONALISM 1830–1920......Page 204
206 My fatherland means more to me than anything else......Page 208
207 Mussorgsky typifies the genius of Russia......Page 209
208 I am sure my music has a taste of cod fish in it......Page 210
210 I wanted to do something different......Page 212
212 The music of the people is like a rare and lovely flower......Page 214
216 Music is a language of the intangible......Page 218
218 The art of music above all the other arts is expression of the soul......Page 220
220 I am a slave to my themes, and submit to their demands......Page 222
222 Spanish music with a universal accent......Page 224
223 A wonderful maze of rhythmical dexterities......Page 225
MODERN 1900–1950......Page 226
228 I go to see the shadow you have become......Page 230
232 I want women to turn their minds to big and difficult jobs......Page 234
240 An audience shouldn’t listen with complacency......Page 242
246 I haven’t understood a bar of music in my life, but I have felt it......Page 248
254 Stand up and take your dissonance like a man......Page 254
256 I have never written a note I didn’t mean......Page 258
258 Life is a lot like jazz … it’s better when you improvise......Page 260
262 A mad extravaganza at the edge of the abyss......Page 264
263 I come with the youthful spirit of my country, with youthful music......Page 265
264 Musically, there is not a single center of gravity in this piece......Page 266
266 The only love affair I ever had was with music......Page 268
268 Science alone can infuse music with youthful vigor......Page 270
270 A nation creates music. The composer only arranges it......Page 272
272 I detest imitation. I detest hackneyed devices......Page 274
273 Balinese music retained a rhythmic vitality both primitive and joyous......Page 275
274 Real music is always revolutionary......Page 276
280 My music is natural, like a waterfall......Page 282
282 Never was I listened to with such rapt attention and comprehension......Page 284
284 I must create order out of chaos......Page 286
286 The music is so knit … that it takes you in very strong hands and leads you into its own world......Page 288
288 Composing is like driving down a foggy road......Page 290
CONTEMPORARY......Page 296
298 Sound is the vocabulary of nature......Page 300
302 I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas; I’m frightened of the old ones......Page 304
306 He has changed our view of musical time and form......Page 308
308 The role of the musician … is perpetual exploration......Page 310
309 Close communion with the people is the natural soil nourishing all my work......Page 311
310 I was struck by the emotional charge of the work......Page 312
312 Once you become an ism, what you’re doing is dead......Page 314
314 I desire to carve … a single painful tone as intense as silence itself......Page 316
316 In music … things don’t get better or worse: they evolve and transform themselves......Page 318
318 If you tell me a lie, let it be a black lie......Page 320
320 The process of substituting beats for rests......Page 322
321 We were so far ahead … because everyone else stayed so far behind......Page 323
322 This must be the first purpose of art … to change us......Page 324
323 I could start out from the chaos and create order in it......Page 325
324 Volcanic, expansive, dazzling—and obsessive......Page 326
325 My music is written for ears......Page 327
326 Blue … like the sky. Where all possibilities soar......Page 328
328 The music uses simple building blocks and grows organically from there …......Page 330
329 This is the core of who we are and what we need to be......Page 331
330 DIRECTORY......Page 332
340 GLOSSARY......Page 342
344 INDEX......Page 346
351 QUOTE ATTRIBUTIONS......Page 353
352 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 354