Quotes by Composer | Beyond Motive 23/27

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Quotes by Composer

"I'm approaching a period in my life though where I'd like to be totally absorbed into music, doing concerts, writing something. Basically, that IS what I am doing."

"I'm approaching a period in my life though where I'd like to be totally absorbed into music, doing concerts, writing something. Basically, that IS what I am doing."

Roscoe Mitchell, American Composer

Life, Music, Writing

19

"My operas usually come from musical ideas rather than ideas about subject matter."

"My operas usually come from musical ideas rather than ideas about subject matter."

Harrison Birtwistle, British Composer

19

"He may have hair upon his chest but, sister, so has Lassie."

"He may have hair upon his chest but, sister, so has Lassie."

Cole Porter, American Composer

Sister, Hair, May

19

"I just initiated the project where I write music for somebody else to write the lyrics and also for the orchestra to perform. I've just initiated the project. That leads the project into creating an independent label outside of game music."

"I just initiated the project where I write music for somebody else to write the lyrics and also for the orchestra to perform. I've just initiated the project. That leads the project into creating an independent label outside of game music."

Nobuo Uematsu, Japanese Composer

19

"Although I had resigned my commission as an officer two years before, I immediately left Switzerland, accompanied by my wife, in order to report for duty. As it happened, a wire reached me a day later calling me to the colors."

"Although I had resigned my commission as an officer two years before, I immediately left Switzerland, accompanied by my wife, in order to report for duty. As it happened, a wire reached me a day later calling me to the colors."

Fritz Kreisler, Austrian Composer

Wife, Colors, Day, Duty

19

"It's amazing how fast generations lose sight of other generations. One of the first things the young composers who come to work with me say is that they want to write music people will like, instead of gaining their credentials by being rejected by the audience."

"It's amazing how fast generations lose sight of other generations. One of the first things the young composers who come to work with me say is that they want to write music people will like, instead of gaining their credentials by being rejected by the audience."

Carlisle Floyd, American Composer

Music, Work, People, Being

19

"My faith is the grand drama of my life. I'm a believer, so I sing words of God to those who have no faith."

"My faith is the grand drama of my life. I'm a believer, so I sing words of God to those who have no faith."

Olivier Messiaen, French Composer

Faith, Life, God, Drama

19

"I don't know anyone who would be exclusively working on game music, per se."

"I don't know anyone who would be exclusively working on game music, per se."

Nobuo Uematsu, Japanese Composer

19

"The outbreak of the war found my wife and me in Switzerland, where we were taking a cure."

"The outbreak of the war found my wife and me in Switzerland, where we were taking a cure."

Fritz Kreisler, Austrian Composer

War, Wife, Cure

19

"I still do not know where the notes will come from when I accept a commission for a new work."

"I still do not know where the notes will come from when I accept a commission for a new work."

Lukas Foss, German Composer

19

"Preserve my artistic creativity and ennoble my artistic fame."

"Preserve my artistic creativity and ennoble my artistic fame."

Giacomo Meyerbeer, German Composer

Creativity, Fame

19

"I said, look, do you think you could bring Gerry through, and they said yeah, absolutely, they thought that. Joel was very keen to cast him. If all my music team were happy, I was happy."

"I said, look, do you think you could bring Gerry through, and they said yeah, absolutely, they thought that. Joel was very keen to cast him. If all my music team were happy, I was happy."

Andrew Lloyd Webber, British Composer

19

"The first question I ask myself when something doesn't seem to be beautiful is why do I think it's not beautiful. And very shortly you discover that there is no reason."

"The first question I ask myself when something doesn't seem to be beautiful is why do I think it's not beautiful. And very shortly you discover that there is no reason."

John Cage, American Composer

First, Question, Reason

19

"I believe that there are still people who believe that game music is something equal to just an effect incorporated into the game, something like a BGM. And therefore this is something that I would like to show that is not true."

"I believe that there are still people who believe that game music is something equal to just an effect incorporated into the game, something like a BGM. And therefore this is something that I would like to show that is not true."

Nobuo Uematsu, Japanese Composer

Music, People, Effect

19

"This is something special. You can attempt to have a kind of non-living music."

"This is something special. You can attempt to have a kind of non-living music."

Michael Tippett, English Composer

19

"Last year in Germany at a town hall in Leipzig there was a game music concert played by the orchestra and some of the Final Fantasy scores were played. This year there is another concert scheduled in the same location, for game music."

"Last year in Germany at a town hall in Leipzig there was a game music concert played by the orchestra and some of the Final Fantasy scores were played. This year there is another concert scheduled in the same location, for game music."

Nobuo Uematsu, Japanese Composer

Music, Fantasy, Germany

19

"But being quiet and meditating on sound is something completely different and will be discovered very soon by a lot of people who feel that the visual world doesn't reach their soul anymore."

"But being quiet and meditating on sound is something completely different and will be discovered very soon by a lot of people who feel that the visual world doesn't reach their soul anymore."

Karlheinz Stockhausen, German Composer

Soul, People, Being, Quiet

19

"How it shaped my perception is this: I have become so indelibly identified as a character in pop culture that it has forced me to go deeply within myself to get a very very rock solid sense, to myself, of who I am."

"How it shaped my perception is this: I have become so indelibly identified as a character in pop culture that it has forced me to go deeply within myself to get a very very rock solid sense, to myself, of who I am."

Thomas Wilson, American Composer

Character, Perception, Culture, Sense

19

"All of these people kept on being professional musicians and composers in the strictest sense."

"All of these people kept on being professional musicians and composers in the strictest sense."

James Tenney, American Composer

People, Being, Composers, Musicians

19

"To stop the flow of music would be like the stopping of time itself, incredible and inconceivable."

"To stop the flow of music would be like the stopping of time itself, incredible and inconceivable."

Aaron Copland, American Composer

19

"Philosophy is for the few."

"Philosophy is for the few."

William Gilbert, British Composer

19

"Singing connected with movements and action is a much more ancient, and, at the same time, more complex phenomenon than is a simple song."

"Singing connected with movements and action is a much more ancient, and, at the same time, more complex phenomenon than is a simple song."

Zoltan Kodaly, Hungarian Composer

Time, Action, Singing, Song

19

"What I love about Brooklyn is there are more wonderful little joints than anywhere."

"What I love about Brooklyn is there are more wonderful little joints than anywhere."

Arthur Schwartz, American Composer

18

"As I had collaborated with visual artists before whether on installations, on performance pieces, in the context of theatre works and as I had taught for a time in art colleges the idea of writing music in response to painting was not alien."

"As I had collaborated with visual artists before whether on installations, on performance pieces, in the context of theatre works and as I had taught for a time in art colleges the idea of writing music in response to painting was not alien."

Gavin Bryars, English Composer

Art, Music, Time, Idea

18

"You can't be idealistic in this world and not be crazy."

"You can't be idealistic in this world and not be crazy."

John Zorn, American Composer

18

"My sole inspiration is a telephone call from a director."

"My sole inspiration is a telephone call from a director."

Cole Porter, American Composer

Inspirational, Inspiration

18

"I somehow sensed when I was a teenager that I wanted to do my own work. I was quite clear that I didn't want to be an interpretative kind of artist. I had an intuition about wanting to create my own form, in one way or another, whatever that would be."

"I somehow sensed when I was a teenager that I wanted to do my own work. I was quite clear that I didn't want to be an interpretative kind of artist. I had an intuition about wanting to create my own form, in one way or another, whatever that would be."

Meredith Monk, American Composer

Work, Artist, Intuition, Want

18

"This exploded in me almost more music than I could consume."

"This exploded in me almost more music than I could consume."

Hoagy Carmichael, American Composer

18

"Without craftsmanship, inspiration is a mere reed shaken in the wind."

"Without craftsmanship, inspiration is a mere reed shaken in the wind."

Johannes Brahms, German Composer

Inspirational, Inspiration, Wind

18

"Boulez seemed to me to be a guy who wrote laws. Like a company lawyer."

"Boulez seemed to me to be a guy who wrote laws. Like a company lawyer."

Luc Ferrari, French Composer

18

"I have just been all round the world and have formed a very poor opinion of it."

"I have just been all round the world and have formed a very poor opinion of it."

Thomas Beecham, English Composer

Opinion, Poor, World

18

"There are rhythmic ideas which sometimes only work up to a point. In writing there are moments when it just comes off the page, it's not just a collection of notes."

"There are rhythmic ideas which sometimes only work up to a point. In writing there are moments when it just comes off the page, it's not just a collection of notes."

Harrison Birtwistle, British Composer

Work, Ideas, Moments, Writing

18

"I was so delirious that I drank a glass of water, thought it wine and got glorious drunk."

"I was so delirious that I drank a glass of water, thought it wine and got glorious drunk."

Will M. Cook, American Composer

Thought, Water, Wine

18

"We started at once to dig our trenches, half of my platoon stepping forward abreast, the men being placed an arm's length apart. After laying their rifles down, barrels pointing to the enemy, a line was drawn behind the row of rifles and parallel to it."

"We started at once to dig our trenches, half of my platoon stepping forward abreast, the men being placed an arm's length apart. After laying their rifles down, barrels pointing to the enemy, a line was drawn behind the row of rifles and parallel to it."

Fritz Kreisler, Austrian Composer

Men, Being, Enemy

18

"The principle of the endless melody is the perpetual becoming of a music that never had any reason for starting, any more than it has any reason for ending."

"The principle of the endless melody is the perpetual becoming of a music that never had any reason for starting, any more than it has any reason for ending."

Igor Stravinsky, Russian Composer

Music, Ending, Reason

18

"You know, I'm not gonna take my money with me to heaven or hell, wherever I'm going. So I want to do something good with it even though my means are very limited. I'm no millionaire!"

"You know, I'm not gonna take my money with me to heaven or hell, wherever I'm going. So I want to do something good with it even though my means are very limited. I'm no millionaire!"

Gunther Schuller, American Composer

Money, Heaven, Hell, Want

18

"Composers should write tunes that chauffeurs and errand boys can whistle."

"Composers should write tunes that chauffeurs and errand boys can whistle."

Thomas Beecham, English Composer

Boys, Composers

18

"Having in my life been bitten by the jaws of both victory and defeat, I must rush to add that success is to failure as butter pecan ice cream is to death."

"Having in my life been bitten by the jaws of both victory and defeat, I must rush to add that success is to failure as butter pecan ice cream is to death."

Rupert Holmes, English Composer

Death, Life, Success, Failure

18

"My wife thinks I'm completely mad."

"My wife thinks I'm completely mad."

Malcolm Williamson, Australian Composer

18

"Sometimes in the past when I was going to perform a piece again I would listen to old recordings and try to reproduce the material. This time I realized that carrying around old information, trying to get everything in, and still be in the moment just doesn't work."

"Sometimes in the past when I was going to perform a piece again I would listen to old recordings and try to reproduce the material. This time I realized that carrying around old information, trying to get everything in, and still be in the moment just doesn't work."

Meredith Monk, American Composer

Time, Work, Information, Old

18

"No, what is important is neither linearity or non-linearity, but the change, the degree of change from something that doesn't move to other events with different tempos in particular."

"No, what is important is neither linearity or non-linearity, but the change, the degree of change from something that doesn't move to other events with different tempos in particular."

Karlheinz Stockhausen, German Composer

18

"I never learned to verbalize an abstract musical concept. No thank you. The whole point of being a serious musician is to avoid verbalization whenever you can."

"I never learned to verbalize an abstract musical concept. No thank you. The whole point of being a serious musician is to avoid verbalization whenever you can."

Virgil Thomson, American Composer

18

"Yes, the more I go through life I realize that there's really no separation between practice and art at all. The two things more and more become one rather than two different aspects of my life."

"Yes, the more I go through life I realize that there's really no separation between practice and art at all. The two things more and more become one rather than two different aspects of my life."

Meredith Monk, American Composer

Art, Life, Practice, Separation

18

"I was studying acting in New York, and wasn't being hired by anyone to do anything other than to work in an Oriental rug warehouse."

"I was studying acting in New York, and wasn't being hired by anyone to do anything other than to work in an Oriental rug warehouse."

Thomas Wilson, American Composer

Work, Acting, Being

18

"That inner voice has both gentleness and clarity. So to get to authenticity, you really keep going down to the bone, to the honesty, and the inevitability of something."

"That inner voice has both gentleness and clarity. So to get to authenticity, you really keep going down to the bone, to the honesty, and the inevitability of something."

Meredith Monk, American Composer

Honesty, Clarity, Voice

18

"I know what I want at least, and the older I get I think I'm better at getting it out of players and singers."

"I know what I want at least, and the older I get I think I'm better at getting it out of players and singers."

Peter Maxwell Davies, English Composer

18

"Reviewing music or reviewing anything is a writing job. It's nice if you are experienced in the field you are writing about, but writing is what you are doing."

"Reviewing music or reviewing anything is a writing job. It's nice if you are experienced in the field you are writing about, but writing is what you are doing."

Virgil Thomson, American Composer

Music, Job, Writing

18

"No one will ever shine in conversation, who thinks of saying fine things: to please, one must say many things indifferent, and many very bad."

"No one will ever shine in conversation, who thinks of saying fine things: to please, one must say many things indifferent, and many very bad."

Francis Lockier, American Composer

Conversation, Saying, Will

18

"It's a matter of keeping people on a spontaneous edge."

"It's a matter of keeping people on a spontaneous edge."

John Zorn, American Composer

18

"The world changes materially. Science makes advances in technology and understanding. But the world of humanity doesn't change."

"The world changes materially. Science makes advances in technology and understanding. But the world of humanity doesn't change."

Pierre Schaeffer, French Composer

Change, Science, Technology, Humanity

18

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