"Somehow, suddenly, a musical idea occurs to you; either a whole phrase, or three notes, or a series of chords, something that seems pregnant with possibilities for development. Once you have the kinds of ideas that fascinate you, you're no longer in a position to decide the nature of the animal. It's going to take its essence from the musical ideas that occur to you....Some musical ideas are too short, they don't seem long enough to carry you through ten minutes of music, so you have to start searching about for other ideas; contrasting ones that seem to fit with the original ones."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Composers from the United StatesLGBT peopleEducators from the United StatesJews from the United StatesPeople from New York City
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Aaron Copland: the Life and Work of an Uncommon Man, .
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aaron_Copland
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland (November 14 1900 – December 2 1990) was an American composer of concert and film music. Instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, he was widely known as “the dean of American composers.”
11 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Aaron Copland →
Related Quotes
"The composer who is frightened of losing his artistic integrity through contact with a mass audience is no longer awa…"
"For me, the most important thing is the element of chance that is built into a live performance. The very great drawb…"
"I hope my recordings of my own works won't inhibit other people's performances. The brutal fact is that one doesn't a…"
"If the listener does eventually come to the point where he makes the ultimate performance by splicing tapes from othe…"
"I object to background music no matter how good it is. Composers want people to listen to their music, they don't wan…"
"I adore extravagance but I abhor waste."
"I don't compose. I assemble materials."
"So long as the human spirit thrives on this planet, music in some living form will accompany and sustain it."
"If you want to know about the Sixties, play the music of The Beatles."
"Nadia Boulanger was quite aware that as a composition teacher she labored under two further disadvantages: she was no…"