Music is an art that touches the depth of human existence; an art of sounds that crosses all borders.
Daniel BarenboimRead
We need a certain amount of energy to produce the sound. But then to sustain it, we have to give more energy, or otherwise, it goes and it dies in silence. And therefore, sound is absolutely, inextricably connected to time, the length of time.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the relationship between energy, sound, and the passage of time.
Daniel Barenboim illustrates how sound requires an initial investment of energy to exist, but sustaining that sound necessitates continuous energy input. This concept reflects the fundamental connection between sound and time, highlighting the transient nature of existence and the necessity of ongoing effort to maintain vitality in any form, including art and life itself.
In practice
In a lecture about the importance of persistence in music, this quote could illustrate the necessity of continuous effort.
Music is an art that touches the depth of human existence; an art of sounds that crosses all borders.
You can't expect someone born into a family with no music... to understand when I'm conducting the Schoenberg Variations.
For me personally, Elliott Carter was and remains one of the most meaningful composers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries because he represents substance. He was the living proof of uncompromising, complex music, which at first seems inaccessible. But it becomes accessible if one digs in and sees the development through.
When we talk about music, we talk about our reaction to it. One person might say that music is so poetic, while another says it's all mathematics. Yet another might say it's about sensuality, and so on. That's all true. But music is not just one of these things. It's everything all at once.
Playing and listening to music gives you a sense of fulfilment because you have to put everything in you at its disposal.
You have to really have the will to hang onto the first note as it is being played, and then really stay with it and take the flight, as it were, you know, for the duration of the piece.
Geography is the key, the crucial accident of birth. A piece of protein could be a snail, a sea lion, or a systems analyst, but it had to start somewhere. This is not science; it is merely metaphor. And the landscape in which the protein "starts" shapes its end as surely as bowls shape water.
How you climb a mountain is more important than reaching the top
Christianity isn’t moving people’s lives today. What’s moving people’s lives is the stock market and the baseball scores. What are people excited about? It’s a totally materialistic level that has taken over the world. There isn’t even an ideal that anybody’s fighting for.
The last thing to collapse is the surface.
We're going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones.
I shall assume that your silence gives consent.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.