Brought to you this hour by

Advertising and Web Hosting on Woodwind.Org!

Doublereed Archive - Posting 000004.txt from 2003/11

From: Oboeeee@-----.com
Subj: [DR-L] Quote of the Day
Date: Mon, 3 Nov 2003 22:34:24 -0500

"It is unjust that Italy should claim musical pre-eminence, even forcing
Italian on music as its international language, when Italy=E2=80=99s genius
is so visual.
No nation can build towns as beautiful nor claim a better right to regard

nature as a shapeless substance to be redeemed by urbifaction. The Italians
are
not Wordsworthian. Man fulfils himself in the town. There is too much wild

nature in music, and it has to be tamed into simple four-square patterns, a
s in
Verdi and Bellini. The tenor does not proclaim Byronically to the woods and

hills: he is a kind of sexy politician for the town piazza. The Italians wo
uld
listen to Aaron, but not to Moses."

-Anthony Burgess (b. 1917) British author, critic
You=E2=80=99ve Had Your Time, (1990)