Quotes by Aaron Copland

Aaron Copland

American composer and writer

Lived from: 1900 - 1990

Category: Music | Politics Country: FlagUnited States

Born: 14 november 1900 Died: 2 december 1990

  • When I speak of the gifted listener, I am thinking of the non-musician 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.
  • You compose because you want to somehow summarize in some permanent form your most basic feelings about being alive, to set down... some sort of permanent statement about the way it feels to live now, today.
  • Inspiration may be a form of super-consciousness, or perhaps of subconsciousness I wouldn't know. But I am sure it is the antithesis of self-consciousness.

Quotes 1 till 13 of 13.

  • A melody is not merely something you can hum.
    ― Aaron Copland
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  • I adore extravagance but I abhor waste.
    Aaron Copland: the Life and Work of an Uncommon Man
    ― Aaron Copland
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  • I hope my recordings of my own works won't inhibit other people's performances. The brutal fact is that one doesn't always get the exact tempo one wants, although one improves with experience.
    Classic Essays on Twentieth-Century Music
    ― Aaron Copland
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  • If a literary man puts together two words about music, one of them will be wrong.
    ― Aaron Copland
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  • If you want to know about the Sixties, play the music of The Beatles.
    Aaron Copland: the Life and Work of an Uncommon Man
    ― Aaron Copland
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  • Inspiration may be a form of super-consciousness, or perhaps of subconsciousness I wouldn't know. But I am sure it is the antithesis of self-consciousness.
    ― Aaron Copland
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  • Most people use music as a couch; they want to be pillowed on it, relaxed and consoled for the stress of daily living. But serious music was never meant to be soporific.
    ― Aaron Copland
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  • So long as the human spirit thrives on this planet, music in some living form will accompany and sustain it and give it expressive meaning.
    Music as an Aspect of the Human Spirit (1954)
    ― Aaron Copland
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  • The whole problem can be stated quite simply by asking, 'Is there a meaning to music?' My answer would be, 'Yes.' And 'Can you state in so many words what the meaning is?' My answer to that would be, 'No.'
    ― Aaron Copland
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  • There is something about music that keeps its distance even at the moment that it engulfs us. It is at the same time outside and away from us and inside and part of us. In one sense it dwarfs us, and in another we master it.
    ― Aaron Copland
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  • To stop the flow of music would be like the stopping of time itself, incredible and inconceivable.
    ― Aaron Copland
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  • When I speak of the gifted listener, I am thinking of the non-musician 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.
    ― Aaron Copland
    - +
     0
  • You compose because you want to somehow summarize in some permanent form your most basic feelings about being alive, to set down... some sort of permanent statement about the way it feels to live now, today.
    ― Aaron Copland
    - +
     0
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Questions and Answers

What are the most famous quotes from Aaron Copland?

The two most famous quotes from Aaron Copland are:

  • "A melody is not merely something you can hum."
  • "I adore extravagance but I abhor waste."

When did Aaron Copland live?

Aaron Copland was born in 1900 and died in the year 1990.