Akira Ifukube (1914–2006) Japanese composer
As quoted by David Milner, "Akira Ifukube Interview I" http://www.davmil.org/www.kaijuconversations.com/ifukub.htm, Kaiju Conversations (December 1992)
Source: The Frontiers of Meaning: Three Informal Lectures on Music (1994), Ch. 2 : How to Become Immortal
Akira Ifukube (1914–2006) Japanese composer
As quoted by David Milner, "Akira Ifukube Interview I" http://www.davmil.org/www.kaijuconversations.com/ifukub.htm, Kaiju Conversations (December 1992)
Charles Rosen (1927–2012) American pianist and writer on music
Source: The Frontiers of Meaning: Three Informal Lectures on Music (1994), Ch. 2 : How to Become Immortal
“Stravinsky, 'e can do what 'e like, but I have to do what ze composer 'as written.”
Pierre Monteux (1875–1964) French conductor
Quoted from Smith, Erik (2005). "Pierre Monteux". Mostly Mozart – Articles, memoirs, rarities and surprises. Winchester: Porcellini Publications. ISBN 0-9544259-1-X, pp. 36–38
Diaghilev asked him to conduct Stravinsky's new Les Noces with no rehearsal, as the composer would already have conducted the first performance, Monteux following on from there.
Boris Berman (1948) Russian/American musician
Prokofiev’s piano sonatas : a guide for the listener and the performer (2008), Prokofiev: His Life and the Evolution of His Musical Language
Ayumi Hamasaki (1978) Japanese recording artist, lyricist, model, and actress
A Song for XX
Lyrics, A Song for XX
Claude Debussy (1862–1918) French composer
Letter to Paul Dukas (1901)
Context: I confess that I am no longer thinking in musical terms, or at least not much, even though I believe with all my heart that Music remains for all time the finest means of expression we have. It’s just that I find the actual pieces — whether they’re old or modern, which is in any case merely a matter of dates — so totally poverty-stricken, manifesting an inability to see beyond the work-table. They smell of the lamp, not of the sun. And then, overshadowing everything, there’s the desire to amaze one’s colleagues with arresting harmonies, quite unnecessary for the most part. In short, these days especially, music is devoid of emotional impact. I feel that, without descending to the level of the gossip column or the novel, it should be possible to solve the problem somehow. There’s no need either for music to make people think! … It would be enough if music could make people listen, despite themselves and despite their petty mundane troubles, and never mind if they’re incapable of expressing anything resembling an opinion. It would be enough if they could no longer recognize their own grey, dull faces, if they felt that for a moment they had been dreaming of an imaginary country, that’s to say, one that can’t be found on the map.
Samuel Butler (1835–1902) novelist
Inaccuracy
The Note-Books of Samuel Butler (1912), Part XXII - Reconciliation
Charles Mingus (1922–1979) American jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader
What Is A Jazz Composer? (1971)
Jascha Heifetz (1901–1987) Lithuanian violinist
Heifetz official web site http://www.jaschaheifetz.com/about/quotes.html