"We can see that canonic status is accorded to the works of a composer not by posterity, or at least not by a posterity as distant in time as is sometimes thought; nor does it depend very much on whether the works are frequently performed for the public in every important musical center. To a certain extent, canonic status is actually built into some new works, partly by the way they impose themselves on an already substantial musical tradition. This may explain why it is so difficult to alter a firmly installed canon in any radical way, or to dislodge works that have been an integral part of it for some time."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Educators from the United StatesJews from the United StatesPeople from New York CityPianists from the United StatesMusic critics
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Ch. 2 : How to Become Immortal
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Rosen
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Charles Rosen
Charles Welles Rosen (May 5, 1927 – December 9, 2012) was an American pianist and writer on music.
69 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Charles Rosen →
Related Quotes
"We can, in fact, relive the history of taste in our own lives, the way embryos are supposed to go through the history…"
"Liszt has never needed revival; his music has always been an important part of the concert repertoire. Nevertheless, …"
"The eventual survival of the tradition is ultimately not at stake."
"Our freedom is hemmed in on every side. We must be grateful for what remains."
"Understanding music simply means not being irritated or puzzled by it."
"More positively, taking pleasure in music is the most obvious sign of comprehension, the proof that we understand it,…"
"If getting used to music is the essential condition for understanding, it is hard to see just what purpose is served …"
"Critical evaluation was transformed into understanding, and criticism became not an act of judgment but of comprehens…"
"Our sensuous appreciation of the world and of the works created by man has, no doubt, a biological foundation, one sh…"
"It is not, however, the unfamiliarity or strangeness of a work or of a composer's manner that is a bar to understandi…"