13 John Tavener Quotes for You to Enjoy

John Tavener

British Composer

Born: Jan 28, 1944

Died: Nov 12, 2013

Always Life Me Music Think You

Related authors: Andrew Lloyd Webber Brian Ferneyhough Edward Elgar Harrison Birtwistle John Barry Richard Baker Stephen Hough William Gilbert

The thing I regret most about my life are those inane photos of me with icons. They used to come down here and dress me up, and I just tolerated it. It's my fault. But I shouldn't have done it. They literally brought down costumes, candles, and icons! It was unbelievable stupidity. John Tavener

Life Me Regret Fault Stupidity My Life Down Those Photos Dress Unbelievable Brought About Costumes Come Most Up Done Just Candles Literally Icons Used Tolerated Thing Here

The music is something outside myself that's also inside myself... Music and a sense of another presence always went hand in hand. Even when I was three, I would improvise music, and my maternal grandfather would act as an audience and used to applaud. I would imitate things like thunder and rain. John Tavener

Music Myself Rain Three Improvise Sense Imitate Would Inside Something Outside Thunder Like Also Another Audience Always Maternal Hand Hand-In-Hand Grandfather Act Used Even Applaud Things Presence

My consultant keeps telling me sudden death could come at any moment. John Tavener

Death Me Telling Consultant Could Come Any Moment Sudden Keeps

I was having these terrible back pains, and then one day in Switzerland, things got very bad. My wife Maryanna called the hotel doctor, but I don't remember any of this, I was out of it. I had an operation, and I was nearly lost. John Tavener

In his late quartets, Beethoven introduces an element that shouldn't be there, that should be left for meditation, though I love them. I can see that through them came Wagner and Mahler and Schoenberg and Berg. And then came Tracey Emin. And I can see it all as one downward path. John Tavener

Love Path Meditation Late Though See Mahler Through Came Wagner His Beethoven Left Them Then Should Element Downward

My way towards God has been to write music. John Tavener

Music God Way Has-Been Write Towards Been

I think there will always be a possibility that God doesn't exist because He is infinitude and into that infinitude must come that possibility. John Tavener

God Will Think Possibility Must He Come Because Always Exist

I've written a very long piece of music recently, the 'Veil of the Temple,' which lasts about seven hours. It's really a kind of vigil. It takes place during the night, waiting for the resurrection of Christ. John Tavener

When I talk of primordial innocence, I hear it in Sufi music with the nay flute. I see it in Coptic icons, in most traditional art, particularly art of the American Indian. I find the texts extraordinarily beautiful and very childlike and very simple. I've been particularly interested in American Indian texts. John Tavener

Beautiful Music Art Simple Innocence Extraordinarily Flute Find Indian See Primordial Most Particularly Talk Traditional Hear Been Texts Very American Childlike Interested Icons Nay Sufi

'The Whale' was in the category of so-called serious music, and yet it brings together a wide series of musical styles. It was influenced by people such as The Beatles, the spirit of the times, and I think 'The Whale' certainly had a pop element to it. John Tavener

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