Saturday 31 October 2009

Quote Of The Last Few Months (normal service resumed)


Varèse: seemingly unaware of the piano next to him.

Suddenly, toward the end of his life, Kierkegaard began to worry what his answer might be if he were asked in Heaven: 'Did you make things clear?.' He realised that in order to make things clear, he must make it known that of all those serving the Church of Denmark, not one had any feelings for God.

And ourselves?, what if we were faced with the same question?, being that music is our life, in that it has given us life - did we make things clear?. That is do we love Music, and not the systems, the rituals, the symbols - the worldly, greedy gymnastics we substitute for it?. That is, do we give everything - a total commitment to our own uniqueness?.

Have we no examples of this?, is this not Varèse?. Do we only have models for scale tinkering and instrument clinking?. Do we think Varèse isnow something to dissect?. Are we making ready the test tubes?, remember, there was no funeral. He escaped.
Morton Feldman: Perspectives of New Music, Vol 4, No.2 (Spring - Summer 1966)

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