Sublime

In Leipzig he also composed his epic Mass in B Minor, The Passion of St. John and The Passion of St. Matthew—all for use as worship services. The latter piece has sometimes been called "the supreme cultural achievement of all Western civilization," and even the radical skeptic Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) admitted upon hearing it, &quo

Speaking of marrying creativity and business, I’ve discovered that a rock star and a brain surgeon have something in common. It’s not that either one would be particularly good at the other’s job (and I’m not sure which crossover would produce the more disastrous results), but rather that each one is capable of performing his craft brilliantly, and

Chez Strauss le processus de travail est tout à fait remarquable. Rien de démonique, pas de « raptus » artistique, aucune trace des dépressions et des désespoirs qu’on connaît par les biographies de Beethoven ou de Wagner. Strauss travaille avec froideur et sobriété, il compose — comme Johann Sebastian Bach, comme tous ces sublimes artisans de leur

The composer Leonard Bernstein, a long time friend of mine, told me that he and his writing partner Stephen Sondheim wrote the classic musical West Side Story completely in an alpha state. He would lie on the couch, prop one leg over the side, and relax until reaching the point between being awake and falling asleep. That’s when he wrote the music.

In appreciating a genius, criticism should not deal with the errors in his productions or with the poorer of his works, and then proceed to rate him low; it should attend only to the qualities in which he most excels.

Guitar gurus say, “Tone is in your fingers.” You can buy the same guitar, effects pedals, and amplifier that Eddie Van Halen uses. But when you play that rig, it’s still going to sound like you.