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Anton Webern

Anton Webern Quotes

Composer

Anton Webern was an influential Austrian composer known for his minimalist style and contributions to the development of serialism. Born on December 3, 1883, he was a key figure in the Second Viennese School, alongside Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg. Webern's compositions are characterized by their extreme brevity, complexity, and the use of advanced musical techniques. He passed away on September 15, 1945.

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Famous Anton Webern Quotes

“Art is a product of nature in general, in the particular form of human nature.”

Humans Art Form Human Nature Particular Products Art Is

Author:Anton Webern

“Comprehensibility is the highest law of all. Unity must be there. There must be means of ensuring it. All the things familiar to us from primitive life must also be used in works of art.”

Mean Art Law Used Highest Unity Familiar Works Of Art Primitive Comprehension

Book:The path to the new music

Source: The path to the new music

“And the works that endure and will endure for ever, the great masterpieces, cannot have come into being as humanity... imagines. Man is only the vessel into which is poured what "nature in general" wants to express.”

Men Want Humanity Imagine Endure Masterpiece Vessel

Book:The path to the new music

Source: The path to the new music

“Indeed, man only exists insofar as he expresses himself. Music does it in musical ideas.”

Men Doe Ideas Expression Musical

Book:The path to the new music

Source: The path to the new music

“The idea is distributed in space. It isn't only in one part; one part can't express the idea any longer, only the union of parts can completely express the idea. The idea found it necessary to be presented by several parts. After that, there was a rapid flowering of polyphony.”

Ideas Found Space Unions Rapids Flowering Polyphony

Book:The path to the new music

Source: The path to the new music

“What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into concepts.”

Want Humans Ideas Language Human Beings Music Is Concepts

Book:The path to the new music

Source: The path to the new music

“Unity is surely the indispensable thing if meaning is to exist. Unity, to be very general, is the establishment of the utmost relatedness between all component parts... the aim is to make as clear as possible the relationships between the parts of the unity; in short, to show how one thing leads to another.”

Ifs Shows Clear One Thing Aim Unity Establishment Indispensable Components

Book:The path to the new music

Source: The path to the new music

“So how do people listen to music? How do the broad masses listen to it? Apparently they have to be able to cling to pictures and 'moods' of some kind. If they can't imagine a green field, a blue sky or something of the sort, then they are out of their depth.”

People Ifs Kind Able Imagine Sky Fields Mass Blue Green Depth Mood Broads Listening To Music Blue Sky Green Fields

Book:The path to the new music

Source: The path to the new music

“From this simple phenomenon, this idea of saying something twice, more often, as often as possible, in order to make oneself understood - the most artful things developed... the principle of repetition!”

Ideas Order Simple Principles Understood Oneself Phenomenon Repetition

Book:The path to the new music

Source: The path to the new music

“As regards the presentation of musical ideas, obviously rules of order soon appeared. Such rules of order have existed since music has existed and since musical ideas have been presented... So we shall try to put our finger on the laws that must be at the bottom of this.”

Trying Has Beens Ideas Law Order Regard Fingers Bottom Musical Presentation

Book:The path to the new music

Source: The path to the new music

“If you want to make something clear to someone, you mustn't forget the main point, the most important thing, and if you bring in something else as an illustration you mustn't wander off into endless irrelevancies.”

Ifs Want Important Forget Clear Important Things Endless Wander Illustration

Author:Anton Webern

“It's always the same: mediocrities are over-valued and great men are rejected.”

Men Great Men Mediocrity Rejected

Book:The path to the new music

Source: The path to the new music

“Except for the violin pieces and a few of my orchestra pieces, all of my works from the Passacaglia on relate to the death of my mother.”

Mother Pieces Relate Orchestra Violin

Author:Anton Webern

“[the impression of the first time I heard Webern's music in a concert performance] was the same as I was to experience a few years later when I first laid eyes on a Mondriaan canvas...: those things, of which I had acquired an extremely intimate knowledge, came across as crude and unfinished when seen in reality”

Years Firsts Reality Eye Heard First Time Performances Impression Intimate Concerts Canvas Crude Unfinished Webern

Author:Anton Webern

“The time was simply ripe for the disappearance of tonality. Naturally this was a fierce struggle; inhibitions of the most frightful kind had to be overcome, the panic fear, 'Is that possible, then?' So it came about that gradually a piece was written, firmly and consciously, that wasn't in a definite key any more.”

Kind Struggle Pieces Written Keys Overcoming Panic Fierce Definite Ripe Disappearance Inhibitions

Author:Anton Webern

“Music is natural law as related to the sense of hearing.”

Law Natural Music Is Hearing Related Natural Law

Book:The path to the new music

Source: The path to the new music

“Your ears will always lead you right, but you must know why.”

Author:Anton Webern

About the Author

Born: December 3, 1883
Died: September 15, 1945
Known for: Composer
Quotes: 17

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