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Brahms Quotes

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Brahms Quotes

“He considered for a moment, then started to play a piece that was very familiar to Ruth, although she had no idea what it was. It was lilting and wistful, and she could have sung the melody if she had wished. 'Alright?' He raised his eyebrows inquiringly. 'Yes. Exactly.' It was effortless and perfect, and he played it through to the end, closing with the softest and most delicate chords, which hung and faded in the quiet hall like the grains of dust raining through the evening light. Ruth was touched. It was all she had wanted. He did not move until there was complete silence again, then he closed the lid without saying anything, and stood up, shoving back the chair. ... 'What was that piece?' 'A Brahms waltz.' 'Hasn't it got a name?' she wanted it to remember. 'Number fifteen. Opus thirty-nine.' It hadn't sounded like numbers to Ruth.”

MusicMusicianMusicalMeaningfulPianoMusic QuotesMeaningful WorkWaltzBrahmsMusician MusicPiano QuoteMeaningful MusicMore Than Numbers
Book:The Beethoven Medal
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“What elevates one and not another to the level of genius is not only talent and ambition and luck, but a gift for turning everything to the purpose. ... Perhaps that is a common element in the story of genius: beyond talent and ambition and luck, in some degree you have to be forcibly booted out of everyday life and everyday goals. In any case, it was like that with Brahms. The fulfillment of love was denied him so that other things might take wing.”

BrahmsJan SwaffordJohannes Brahms A Biography
Book:Johannes Brahms: A Biography
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“Sometimes I have the feeling that you are not quite aware--and this honors you--of the historical greatness of your position, that you think too modestly about yourself. Everything you do is destined to be of historic significance. One day, your letters, your decisions, will belong to all mankind, like those of Wagner and Brahms.”

ThinkingSometimesFeelingsDecisionMankindPositionGreatnessHonorOne DayLettersHistoricalSignificanceAbout YourselfDestinedHistoricWagnerBrahms
Book:A Confidential Matter: The Letters of Richard Strauss and Stefan Zweig, 1931-1935
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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.”

IfsWellsWould BeGivenPracticeHeardEmotionalMusicianToolsCrisisSticksMusicalBarsTemptationSymbolsScoreComposerQuotationsPettyConvenientHideousHesitationInvertedBrahmsSchubertLarceny
Book:Streaks of life
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“I listen to music when I write. I need the musical background. Classical music. I'm behind the times. I'm still with Baroque music, Gregorian chant, the requiems, and with the quartets of Beethoven and Brahms. That is what I need for the climate, for the surroundings, for the landscape: the music.”

NeedsWritingStillsBehindsClimateMusicalBackgroundsLandscapeSurroundingsListening To MusicClassical MusicQuartetsBaroqueRequiemBrahmsBaroque Music
Author:Elie Wiesel
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“Brahms once remarked that the mark of an artist is how much he throws away. Nature, the great creator, is always throwing things away. A frog lays several million eggs at a sitting. Only a few dozen of these become tadpoles, and only a few of those become frogs. We can let imagination and practice be as profligate as nature.”

ArtistImaginationPracticeMillionsSittingMarkLaysCreatorEggsThrowingDozenFrogsBrahmsTadpolesThrowing Things
Book:Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art
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“We'll win, of course," he said. "You don't want that," said the demon. "Why not, pray?“ “Listen," said Crowley desperately, "how many musicians do you think your side have got, eh? First grade, I mean." Aziraphale looked taken aback. "Well, I should think-" he began. "Two," said Crowley. "Elgar and Liszt. That's all. We've got the rest. Beethoven, Brahms, all the Bachs, Mozart, the lot. Can you imagine eternity with Elgar?”

ThinkingWantShouldFirstsWellsMeanSaidTwoCoursesWinningSidesTakenImaginePrayingMusicianEternityDemonGradesWhy NotYour SideBrahms
Book:Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
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“...stories about [the German composer Johannes] Brahms's rudeness and wit amused me in particular. For instance, I loved the one about how a great wine connoisseur invited the composer to dinner. 'This is the Brahms of my cellar,' he said to his guests, producing a dust-covered bottle and pouring some into the master's glass. Brahms looked first at the color of the wine, then sniffed its bouquet, finally took a sip, and put the glass down without saying a word. 'Don't you like it?' asked the host. 'Hmm,' Brahms muttered. 'Better bring your Beethoven!'”

FirstsSaidStoriesParticularColorMastersWineGlassesDinnerWitInstanceDustCoveredBottlesHostGuestsComposerInvitedPouringYou Like ItAmusedRudenessCellarsBouquetsHmmGreat WineConnoisseurBrahms
Author:Arthur Rubinstein
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