Here is music turned deliberately inside out in order that nothing will be reminiscent of classical opera, or have anything in common with symphonic music or with simple and popular musical language accessible to all...Here we have 'leftist' confusion instead of natural human music. The power of good music to infect the masses has been sacrificed to a petty-bourgeois, 'formalist' attempt to create originality through cheap clowning. It is a game of clever ingenuity that may end very badly.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- He describes a style of music that intentionally rejects tradition and simplicity, warning it may backfire.
- In plain terms
- Music that tries too hard to be original can lose connection with the public.
- What can you take from it?
- Originality without human connection fails.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How much should art challenge the audience?
- Where is the line between innovation and confusion?
Another view
It assumes the masses should always dictate artistic direction.
More from Dmitri Shostakovich
'Football is the ballet of the masses.'
Permalink to quote #28 Pornophony.
Permalink to quote #30 'Beethoven was a revolutionary. If you read his letters, you will realize how much he wished to arouse the public by his new musical ideas.'
Permalink to quote #27
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