Category Archives: Inspirational
“I better not screw up”
Year-end. Had the recital on Saturday. None of my adult students played (does 24 count as adult?) None wanted to, although I gave them the opportunity. Then a friend sent this wonderful, heartwarming, just-in-time-for-Father’s-Day story – about an adult beginner … Continue reading
Posted in Inspirational, Performance
Tagged Adult music students, Father's-Day, Joshua Henkin, Music lesson, Piano Lessons
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The brain zaps; the spirit soars.
Exposure. It’s all about exposure. And knowledge. Expose your ears, your eyes, your brain, your heart to new stuff. Then things happen. The music, the art, the literature, the architecture all become less unfamiliar. You see and hear the patterns. … Continue reading
Posted in General, Inspirational, Uncategorized
Tagged contemporary music, Pablo Picasso, Picasso, Three Musicians
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We are building cathedrals
Many of the great cathedrals of Europe took generations – centuries – to build. The vast majority of those doing the grunt work would never see the completion of the building. “Cathedrals of this magnificence cannot be built without … Continue reading
Posted in Inspirational
Tagged Billy Shore, Cathedral, Churches, Eric Dawson, inspirational, music education, Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, piano teachers, social enterprise
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You are still alive, still human, still open to beauty.
And as the ax bites into the wood, be comforted in the fact that the ache in your heart and the confusion in your soul means that you are still alive, still human, and still open to the beauty of … Continue reading
Posted in Inspirational, Music Videos, Performance, Quotes
Tagged Brahms, cello music, Classical music, inspirational quotes, Paul Harding, piano music, Rostropovich, Tinkers
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Rules. And works of art.
________________________________________________________________ Image: ClassicFM
Posted in General, Inspirational, Music History, Quotes
Tagged art quotes, Classical music, Composers, Debussy, music quotes
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A balance for soul. A balance for beauty.
“People are craving this great progress in electronics, going after computers, the Internet, etc. It’s a great progress technologically. But they must have a balance for soul, a balance for human beauty. That means art has an important role.” ~Mstislav … Continue reading
Posted in Bach, Inspirational, Music History, Music Videos, Performance
Tagged Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, cello, Classical music, Mstislav Rostropovich
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This one hurts
“The music is played with the heart and is felt with the soul” This is a picture of a Brazilian kid who was part of the “cultural group of reggae”, playing his instrument in the funeral of his mentor who … Continue reading
A strange art, music;
“…A strange art, music; the most poetic and precise of all the arts, vague as a dream and exact as algebra.” ~Guy de Maupassant (French writer, 1850-1893) _____________________________________________________________________________ Image: The interior of Hallgrímskirkja church, Reykjavik, Iceland. Photo and more text … Continue reading
Posted in Inspirational, Quotes
Tagged Guy de Maupassant, Hallgrímskirkja, music quotes, Reykjavik
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Leave life a better human being
“If humanism were right in declaring that man is born to be happy, he would not be born to die. Since his body is doomed to die, his task on earth evidently must be of a more spiritual nature. It … Continue reading
Posted in Inspirational
Tagged God, inspirational quotes, Personal life, quotes, Religion and Spirituality, Solzhenitsyn, Spiritual Growth
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Fight it. Every step of the way.
For our students, and ourselves, no matter our profession / vocation / avocation: Is Mediocrity really all that bad? You already know the answer. Mediocrity is so poisonous because no one really complains about it. It envelops and … Continue reading
Posted in Inspirational
Tagged excellence, inspirational quotes, mediocrity, practice
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Finally, colors dominate your sounds
“At a young age, when you are playing something in the early stages of your life, you are striving to be up toward the unattainable perfection, mainly based on the musical laws and regulations. Later on, you start being interested … Continue reading
Posted in Inspirational, Performance, Quotes, Uncategorized
Tagged János Starker, music quotes
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