Music tells no truths.

Music tells no truths.

Music religious heat inspires,
It wakes the soul, and lifts it high,
And wings it with sublime read more

Music religious heat inspires,
It wakes the soul, and lifts it high,
And wings it with sublime desires,
And fits it to bespeak the Deity.

Opera in English is, in the main, about as sensible as baseball in Italian.

Opera in English is, in the main, about as sensible as baseball in Italian.

When I speak of the gifted listener, I am thinking of the nonmusician primarily, of the listener who intends to read more

When I speak of the gifted listener, I am thinking of the nonmusician primarily, of the listener who intends to retain his amateur status. It is the thought of just such a listener that excites the composer in me.

I remember being handed a score composed by Mozart at the age of eleven. What could I say? I felt read more

I remember being handed a score composed by Mozart at the age of eleven. What could I say? I felt like de Kooning, who was asked to comment on a certain abstract painting, and answered in the negative. He was then told it was the work of a celebrated monkey. 'That's different. For a monkey, it's terrific.'

A lot of people are singing about how screwed up the world is, and I don't think that everybody wants read more

A lot of people are singing about how screwed up the world is, and I don't think that everybody wants to hear about that all the time.

Music . . .can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable.

Music . . .can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable.

Without music, life would be a mistake.

Without music, life would be a mistake.

All the sounds of the earth are like music.

All the sounds of the earth are like music.