Cellist of (and sometimes out of) sorts, Author, Father, Lover of Indian and other food and of the Marx Brothers and other people who make me laugh.
Joined July 2013
- Tweets 24,604
- Following 734
- Followers 43,133
- Likes 68,101
3,975 Photos and videos
Wisdom from Harriet Beecher Stowe (b otd 1811):
“To be really great in little things, to be truly noble and heroic in the insipid details of everyday life, is a virtue so rare as to be worthy of canonisation.”
“The past, the present, and the future are really one: they are today”
1
20
108
2,367
Wisdom from WB Yeats (b otd 1865):
“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
“There is another world, but it is in this one.”
“What can be explained is not poetry.”
5
56
210
3,481
Wonderful, loveable composer/conductor/supporter of other composers Oliver Knussen b otd 1952. Making himself clear about self-expression in music (!):
"I hate the idea of somebody sitting down and thinking... 'My cat’s just died. I’m going to write a Requiem Mass for the cat.'"
16
17
137
4,597
Richard Strauss b otd 1864 - such a master! "Anyone who wants to be a real musician must be able to set a menu to music." But also: "Melody as revealed in the greatest works of our classics is one of the most noble gifts which an invisible deity has bestowed on mankind."
14
62
253
5,251
Judy Garland b otd 1922! What an artist - she shared her vulnerability...
"I've always taken 'The Wizard of Oz' very seriously. I believe in the idea of the rainbow. And I've spent my entire life trying to get over it."
"I can live without money, but I cannot live without love."
6
21
152
3,495
My teacher Jane Cowan b otd 1915. Of her many tenets, two were perhaps the most basic. Technique: playing the cello must feel (and look) easy. Music: each part of the phrase/each clause has a main note towards and away from which every other note flows - exactly as in speech.
10
36
286
4,435
Robert Schumann b otd 1810! Is there a composer who confides in us so deeply, takes us more openly into his soul? His vulnerability, his tender poetry move us so deeply; but so also do his rhythmic invention, his intellectual mastery, his boundless imagination. Musical divinity!
19
89
390
6,425
Conductors b otd:
Szell (1897): Conductors must give unmistakable and suggestive signals to the orchestra, not choreography to the audience.
Neeme Jarvi (1937): If a conductor waves his arms about, audiences think he's working hard but he's probably just disturbing the musicians!
17
44
288
8,740
Wonderful conductor Klaus Tennstedt b otd 100 years ago! (Even Carlos Kleiber loved him: 'finally someone I can admire'). I remember some of his London concerts; the energy, precision and charisma were remarkable - spellbinding. And orchestras loved him! A true, sincere artist.
9
48
269
5,468
Martha Argerich is 85! Unbelievable - 85 going on 25; as she says 'I just don't feel old.' A very happy birthday to a musical/ human dynamo - passionately warm-hearted, fiercely loyal, perennially self-doubting ('forgive my sins' she mutters before going onstage); and adorable!
39
162
760
15,423
An encouraging sign in Oviedo, Spain, for those of us of a certain age. All this anti-aging stuff - unnecessary. Good to know that there’s a market for those who realise that it’s more important to look wise…haha.
13
11
105
2,655
A very happy 60th to the wonderful Cecilia Bartoli - giver of joy!
"I feel music becoming more and more important. It's a big source of inspiration...Music also brings you peace."
"Music is a way to dream together, to go to another dimension."
"I am a person of the 18th century."
15
64
438
10,919
Alas, Georges Bizet d otd 1875, believing Carmen to be a failure. But maybe he was immune? Some years earlier, he'd declared: "I am growing stronger every day against life’s petty emotions. It is not philosophy strictly speaking, but an immense disdain...that takes its place.*
11
22
198
2,785
Wow, @Iberia - you really are absolutely appalling! Almost unimaginable incompetence - good luck for winning World’s Worst Airline. You must be favourite to win, hands down… congratulations in advance.
13
9
84
5,647
Edward Elgar b itd 1857! What a composer - such moving, deeply emotional music; but (to my mind) widely misunderstood. Yes, his musical language is English; but his vulnerability, his aching sensitivity, his warmth of heart and gift for soaring melody - these are universal.
16
71
354
6,781
Marilyn Monroe b otd 100 years ago! So talented, so tragic...
“I've never fooled anyone. I've let people fool themselves. They didn't bother to find out who, what I was. Instead they would invent a character for me. I wouldn't argue with them. They were loving somebody I wasn't.”
6
29
159
3,577
Beloved Joseph Haydn d otd 1809! His modest creed:
“There are so few contented peoples here below! Perhaps my labours will be a source from which they can derive rest and refreshment... This is why I now look back with cheerful satisfaction on the labours I expended on this art."
21
83
339
6,511
Wise words from jazz/classical legend Benny Goodman, b otd 1909:
"After you've done all the work and prepared as much as you can, what the hell, you might as well go out and have a good time."
“It takes the black keys and the white keys both, to make perfect harmony.”
8
36
155
2,491
JFK - b otd 1917 - on the power of art:
"I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed, we will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit."
"Art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth."
6
50
191
3,055
Wisdom from Fischer-Dieskau (b otd 1925):
"Artistic expression is essential for the human spirit to thrive."
"Music has the power to heal and bring solace to the soul."
"Singing is an act of vulnerability and courage."
"Every note counts, and every word carries significance."
17
95
379
7,306