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Quote by Ethel Smyth

“when I came to know Greek art I instantly understood that excess and perfection are enemies; yet on the other hand this world and the millions of worlds around us live by fire ... !”

Quote by Ethel Smyth

Work

Impressions that remained

Impressions that remained is the autobiography of Ethel Smyth, an English composer and suffragette. The book covers her childhood, education, and early career, offering personal reflections on her musical development and the social circles she moved in. It provides insight into the challenges faced by a woman pursuing a career in classical music during the Victorian and Edwardian eras, as well as her involvement in the women's suffrage movement. The narrative is based on Smyth's own recollections and letters, presenting a firsthand account of her life and times. more

Author

Ethel Smyth
Ethel Smyth

Ethel Smyth was a notable British composer and conductor, recognized for her substantial contributions to music. Born on April 23, 1858, and passing away on May 8, 1944, Smyth's compositions, encompassing orchestral pieces, chamber music, and songs, have had a profound impact on the musical landscape. more

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“the writer must resist this temptation [to quote] and do his best with his own tools. It would be most convenient for us musicians if, arrived at a given emotional crisis in our work, we could simply stick in a few bars of Brahms or Schubert. Indeed many composers have no hesitation in so doing. But I have never heard the practice defended; possibly because that hideous symbol of petty larceny, the inverted comma, cannot well be worked into a musical score.”

“No doubt other writers have often put a thing more brilliantly, more subtly than even a very cunning artist in words can hope to emulate, a supreme phrase being a bit of luck that only happens now and then. And inasmuch as the condiments and secret travail of human nature are always the same, and that certain psychological moments must ever and ever recur, what more tempting than to pin down such a moment with the blow of a borrowed hammer?”