black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

Music is good, not evil. Poetry is good, not evil. Primitive, but oh, so true!

Dmitri Shostakovich

I don’t know what will become of this piece. Our brave critics will no doubt charge me with imitating Ravel’s Bolero. Too bad – this is how I hear war.
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH

Brave Doubt Imitation Pieces War
A creative artist works on his next composition because he was not satisfied with his previous one.
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH

Artist Creativity Previous Satisfaction Work
I always try to make myself as widely understood as possible; and if I don’t succeed, I consider it my own fault.
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH

Mistake Myself Possible Success Try Understand Wide
Those who have ears to hear, will hear.
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH

Ability Ear Hear
The best way to hold on to something is to pay no attention to it. The things you love too much perish. You have to treat everything with irony, especially the things you hold dear. There’s more of a chance then that they’ll survive.
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH

Attention Best Chance Hold Pay Survive Treat Yourself
I feel eternal pain for those who were killed by Hitler, but I feel no less pain for those killed on Stalin’s orders. I suffer for everyone who was tortured, shot, or starved to death.
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH

Death Forever Kill Myself Order Starve Suffering
If they cut off both hands, I will compose music anyway holding the pen in my teeth.
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH

Dedication Hands Music Myself Teeth
The real geniuses know where their writing has to be good and where they can get away with some mediocrity.
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH

Average Genius Reality Writing
Every piece of music is a form of personal expression for its creator. If a work doesn’t express the composers own personal point of view, his own ideas, then it doesn’t, in my opinion, even deserve to be born.
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH

Born Creator Deserve Expression Form Music Personal Pieces Point
The most uninteresting part of the biography of a composer is his childhood. All those preludes are the same and the reader hurries on to the fugue.
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH

Childhood Compose Interest Reading
I write music, it’s performed. After all, my music says it all. It doesn’t need historical and hysterical commentaries. In the long run, any words about music are less important than the music.
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH

Comment History Important Music Myself Performance Writing
Music is good, not evil. Poetry is good, not evil. Primitive, but oh, so true!
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH

Evil Goodness Music True
He fell like a chicken into the soup.
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH

Chicken Fall Soup
What you have in your head, put down on paper. The head is a fragile vessel.
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH

Fragile Head Paper Vessel
The majority of my symphonies are tombstones.
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH

Majority Music Symphony
Stravinsky the composer I worship. Stravinsky the thinker I despise.
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH

Compose Hate Myself Thinking Worship

Music is good, not evil. Poetry is good, not evil. Primitive, but oh, so true!

Related Topics

Popular Authors

Music is good, not evil. Poetry is good, not evil. Primitive, but oh, so true!

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Dmitri Shostakovich Quotes