What a good song — and new to me: Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me”: You don’t own me I’m not just one of your many toys You don’t own me Don’t say I can’t go with other boys And don’t tell me what to do Don’t tell me what to say And please, when […]
Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me” (1964) Read More »
Most movements consistently exhibit a destructive social psychology. The dynamic is this: a movement’s members begin with a huge amount in common — the same high talent, goals, and passions. But any difference, sometimes minor, sets them against each other ferociously and irreparably. The dynamic crops up in many movements across history — political (e.g.,
Movement splits and hatreds — a music example Read More »
When he became an American citizen in 1943, Sergei Rachmaninoff said: “This is the only place on earth where a human being is respected for what he is and what he does, and it does not matter who he is and where he came from.” Related: “How Rachmaninoff’s composing was hurt by the Soviet Union.”
Rachmaninoff upon becoming an American citizen Read More »
From an account of the famous meeting of the two giants in 1812: Beethoven’s manners were described as rough, like “an unlicked bear,” while “Goethe’s social attitudes were shaped in a more formal age. For Beethoven, 21 years his junior, the only true aristocrats were artists. In the mythology, his disillusionment was clinched by Goethe’s
Goethe versus Beethoven on deference to aristocrats Read More »
Yet another reason to despise the Russian experiment in socialism. After the communist revolution, the great composer Sergei Rachmaninoff went into exile, losing his home and other property to the Soviets — along with his publisher and his status in Russia as leading musician of his generation. Starting over in the West was a challenge,
How Rachmaninoff’s composing was hurt by the Soviet Union Read More »
From Igor Stravinky’s Autobiography: “For me, as a creative musician, composition is a daily function that I feel compelled to discharge. I compose because I am made for that and cannot do otherwise. Just as any organ atrophies unless kept in a state of constant activity, so the faculty of composition becomes enfeebled and dulled
How great artists become great — Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky Read More »
How did Beethoven become Beethoven? “The ‘personality’ of such a man as Beethoven is a slowly developed synthetic whole. It is formed by the gradual combination of its constituent elements into an organic unity. For the development of a personality a rich and profound inner life is necessary, and for that reason it is usually
Creative geniuses as selfish — Beethoven version Read More »