1432 quotes by composers for you to enjoy

I don't see how they can with most of my pieces, but I think it's unfortunate that they can through familiarity with flashy performances of a great deal of other music. Peter Maxwell Davies

Music Great Great Deal Think Other See Through Performance Most Pieces Deal How Familiarity Flashy Unfortunate

If you're writing a piece for the Boston Pops, the balance is towards one end. If you're writing a piece for a chamber music society, then it's towards another point. I won't make a final answer on that. I think it changes with every piece. Peter Maxwell Davies

I'm obviously very keen on the theater and I think it's inevitable that some of the orchestral and chamber pieces have got dramatic elements which might even suggest an unspecified dramatic plot of some kind or other, even though it's not in my mind at the time. Peter Maxwell Davies

Time Mind Inevitable Think Other Dramatic Though Plot Kind Some Pieces Obviously Got Very Orchestral Which Theater Might Even Keen Elements Chamber Suggest

But when you get a bit older, and I hate to use the word, quite a bit more established, people take more notice and conducting becomes a great deal easier. You don't have battles like you had before. Peter Maxwell Davies

Great You Hate People Word Great Deal Before Older Bit Easier Battles More Take Had Like Deal Becomes Conducting Get Quite Quite A Bit Established Notice Use

I'm very interested, for instance, in music in education - getting young people not only to listen to, but participate in the music that I write. I consider this one of the most vital aspects of my work. Peter Maxwell Davies

Work Education Music People Young Consider Vital Only Write Instance Participate Most Very Getting Listen Interested Young People Aspects

At the moment, in Britain we're facing such enormous cutbacks in education programs and music programs and art programs that you feel you are knocking your head against a brick wall. Peter Maxwell Davies

Education Music Art You Enormous Programs Facing Head Feel Knocking Education Programs Wall Against Your Brick Brick Wall Moment Britain

The present government is very insistent that business sponsorship should replace government sponsorship of the arts. Business sponsorship won't happen unless you make tax concessions, which they won't. Peter Maxwell Davies

Government You Business Unless Insistent Sponsorship Make Replace Very Arts Tax Happen Which Should Present

What came to me as a revelation was the use of rhythm in developing an overall structure in music. Philip Glass

Music Me Structure Developing Overall Revelation Came Rhythm Use

Conducting is more difficult than playing a single instrument. You have to know the culture, to know the score, and to project what you want to hear. Some conductors are well prepared but cannot transmit their ideas to an orchestra, and others are good communicators but have nothing to transmit because they are not absorbed enough in the score. Pierre Boulez

Good You Culture Single Nothing Difficult Enough Others Project Some More Absorb Ideas Know Instrument Well Because Hear Score Conducting Conductors Than Orchestra Want Cannot Communicators Transmit Prepared Playing

I wanted contemporary music to be treated the same as the traditional repertoire - performed regularly by people who knew each other and the music. That is the way you convince an audience. Pierre Boulez

Music You People Other Way Knew Performed Contemporary Contemporary Music Audience Traditional Repertoire Same Wanted Convince Regularly Who Each Treated

My parents were so far from the music world that they couldn't conceive how you could make a living. But for me, it was the only solution for the rest of my life. Pierre Boulez

Life Music Me You World Rest My Life Parents Living Music World Solution Only Could Conceive Make How Were Far

I always think the relationship between a teacher and a student should be short and maybe violent. You don't need to spend years together. All you need is an explosion: you are the material to explode; the teacher is the detonator. Pierre Boulez

Teacher Relationship You Together Think Spend Student Between Always Material Years Maybe Short Explode Should Explosion Violent Need

Acting and performing music is exactly the same. Therefore, an actor, for instance, who is very impressive, he's not simply imitating or trying to imitate, but he must dominate this kind of feeling, and then he transmits it in a much stronger way. Pierre Boulez

Music Stronger Feeling Imitate Imitating Way Kind Must Exactly Exactly The Same Instance He Simply Performing Impressive Very Dominate Trying Same Then Much Acting Who Therefore Actor

I always admired very much the virtuosity in Strauss because, really, he's a master of using the orchestra. And I like virtuosity, I must say, even if the taste of the music is not always mine. Pierre Boulez

Music Master Mine Say Must Admired He Like Because Always Very Taste Orchestra Much Really Using Even

Some members of the Vienna Philharmonic convinced me to try Bruckner, which I have never done before. And that was interesting to me to have this experience with this orchestra, which knows the repertoire very well, and to be confronted with this knowledge, and to learn from them. Pierre Boulez

Take a sound from whatever source, a note on a violin, a scream, a moan, a creaking door, and there is always this symmetry between the sound basis, which is complex and has numerous characteristics which emerge through a process of comparison within our perception. Pierre Schaeffer

Perception Whatever Numerous Our Complex Characteristics Emerge Through Take Between Within Always Sound Source Moan Scream Door Process Which Note Comparison Basis Symmetry Violin

First, it doesn't surprise me that traditional music has experienced a kind of exhaustion in the 20th century - not forgetting that many musicians started to look outside the traditional structures of tonality. Pierre Schaeffer

Music Me Musicians First Kind Structures Outside Look Exhaustion Traditional Surprise Traditional Music Forgetting Experienced Century Many Tonality Started

Noises have generally been thought of as indistinct, but this is not true. Pierre Schaeffer

Thought Generally True Noises Been

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