“Composers combine notes, that's all.”

Source: 1970s and later, Themes and Conclusions (1982), p. 52 : Dialogues.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Composers combine notes, that's all." by Igor Stravinsky?
Igor Stravinsky photo
Igor Stravinsky 13
Russian composer, pianist and conductor 1882–1971

Related quotes

Anthony de Mello photo

“The genius of a composer is found in the notes of his music; but analyzing the notes will not reveal his genius.”

Anthony de Mello (1931–1987) Indian writer

Awakening : Conversations with the Masters (2003), p. 24
Context: The genius of a composer is found in the notes of his music; but analyzing the notes will not reveal his genius. The poet's greatness is contained in his words; yet the study of his words will not disclose his inspiration. God reveals himself in creation; but scrutinize creation as minutely as you wish, you will not find God, any more than you will find the soul through careful examination of your body.

“These principles, like the notes of a piano, may be used in many various combinations.”

Herbert N. Casson (1869–1951) Canadian journalist and writer

Source: 1910s, Ads and Sales (1911), p. 8-9

Robert Fripp photo
Robert Chambers (publisher, born 1802) photo

“What is still more wonderful with respect to this principle of combination, all the elementary substances observe certain mathematical proportions in their unions. It is hence supposed that matter is composed of”

Source: Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation (1844), p. 35
Context: It is remarkable of the simple substances that they are generally in some compound form. Thus oxygen and nitrogen, though in union they form the aerial envelope of the globe, are never found separate in nature. Carbon is pure only in the diamond. And the metallic bases of the earths, though the chemist can disengage them, may well be supposed unlikely to remain long uncombined, seeing that contact with moisture makes them burn. Combination and re-combination are principles largely pervading nature. There are few rocks, for example, that are not composed of at least two varieties of matter, each of which is again a compound of elementary substances. What is still more wonderful with respect to this principle of combination, all the elementary substances observe certain mathematical proportions in their unions. It is hence supposed that matter is composed of infinitely minute particles or atoms, each of which belonging to any one substance, can only (through the operation of some as yet hidden law) associate with a certain number of the atoms of any other.

Umberto Eco photo

“This, in fact, is the power of the imagination, which, combining the memory of gold with that of the mountain, can compose the idea of a golden mountain.”

Umberto Eco (1932–2016) Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist

Source: The Name of the Rose (Everyman's Library

Lorin Maazel photo

“I don't want to be conducting Mahler with my head stuffed full of 10 million notes from other composers.”

Lorin Maazel (1930–2014) French-American conductor

As quoted in BBC News http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-28287217

Prevale photo

“Lovers of the night, we try to compose notes from our actions, without any duration, but only with the wants to convey emotions.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: Amanti della notte, cerchiamo di comporre note dalle nostre azioni, senza alcuna durata, ma solo con la voglia di trasmettere emozioni.
Source: prevale.net

Eduard Hanslick photo

“Music has no subject beyond the combinations of notes we hear, for music speaks not only by means of sounds, it speaks nothing but sound.”

Eduard Hanslick (1825–1904) austrian musician and musicologist

Eduard Hanslick, quoted by Wolfgang Sandberger (1996) in the liner notes to the Juilliard String Quartet's Intimate Letters. Sony Classical SK 66840.

George Gershwin photo
Newton Lee photo

Related topics