[Smt-talk] music theory quotations

[Arnie Cox]

From Debussy's inaugural (?) review in Le Revue Blanche (April 1, 1901):

"I shall try to see the works I discuss in perspective, to discover the various seeds from which they sprang, and what they contain of inner life.  Isn't that quite as interesting as that game which consists of taking them to pieces, as though they were curious old watches?

"Grownups tend to forget that as children they were forbidden to open the insides of their dolls - a crime of high treason against the cause of mystery. . . . And yet they still insist on poking their aesthetic noses into things that don't concern them!  Without their dolls to break open, they still try to explain things, dismantle them and quite heartlessly kill all their mystery.  I suppose it *is* more convenient to know how things work:  at least it gives us something to chat about."

P. 13 in the Lesure and Langham Smith collection, Debussy on Music.


Arnie Cox
Assoc. Prof. of Music Theory
Oberlin Conservatory


On Jan 23, 2011, at 12:36 PM, Timothy Cutler wrote:

> I'm interested in collecting quotations in which composers or famous performers extol the virtues of theory and analysis,
> such as Schumann's "Do not be frightened by words like Theory, Thoroughbass, Counterpoint, etc. They can be your friends
> if you approach them in a friendly manner" and an interview with Murray Perahia: "I was able, also, to study analysis, to study
> counterpoint and harmony....And you get a perspective of what music is about that is more important than actually playing the
> instrument."
> 
> (The former is from "Musical Rules at Home and in Life," and the latter was taken from a Fresh Air interview.)
> 
> I'd also enjoy seeing examples of the opposite--composers and performers expressing how much they detest theory and analysis.
> 
> Any assistance would be appreciated!
> Thanks very much,
> 
> Dr. Tim Cutler
> Professor of Music Theory
> Cleveland Institute of Music
On Jan 23, 2011, at 12:36 PM, Timothy Cutler wrote:

> I'm interested in collecting quotations in which composers or famous performers extol the virtues of theory and analysis,
> such as Schumann's "Do not be frightened by words like Theory, Thoroughbass, Counterpoint, etc. They can be your friends
> if you approach them in a friendly manner" and an interview with Murray Perahia: "I was able, also, to study analysis, to study
> counterpoint and harmony....And you get a perspective of what music is about that is more important than actually playing the
> instrument."
>  
> (The former is from "Musical Rules at Home and in Life," and the latter was taken from a Fresh Air interview.)
>  
> I'd also enjoy seeing examples of the opposite--composers and performers expressing how much they detest theory and analysis.
>  
> Any assistance would be appreciated!
> Thanks very much,
>  
> Dr. Tim Cutler
> Professor of Music Theory
> Cleveland Institute of Music
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