Rostropovich And Britten Quotes

Forgiveness ... is a willingness to get over what you think should have happened and an acceptance of the reality of what actually happened. ~ Rhonda Britten

I've been kind of listening to the composer Britten and his rendition of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.' The opening track is a choral section where all the weird fairies, who are played by kids in the production, sing. It's a crazy opening melody and chord sequence - really amazing. ~ Dev Hynes

For Rostropovich, every single note that he played had a special kind of human meaning behind it. And this was something that he expressed and demanded of everyone who worked with him, who wanted to rise up to that level. ~ David Finckel

Our ability to receive is a necessary component if we desire to own our power, claim our worth and live fearlessly. ~ Rhonda Britten

One day I'll be able to relax a bit, and try and become a good composer. ~ Benjamin Britten

Yet if we are to live fully, we must love as though we've never been hurt, dream as though our hopes have never been dashed, and take steps toward the future as though life has never given us pain. ~ Rhonda Britten

My mother carried me for 10 months. I asked her 'Mother, you had an extra month, why you didn't make me a beautiful face?' and mother told me, 'My son, I was busy making your beautiful hands and heart.' ~ Mstislav Rostropovich

There is too much emphasis on technical perfection nowadays, and not enough on what music is actually about - irony, joy, human suffering, love. ~ Mstislav Rostropovich

Living in intention through acceptance, responsibility, pro-active choice, and the willingness to be ordinary, will move fear aside and allow intuition to surface. All of those skills teach us to be inner focused and aware of who we are becoming. That is powerful. That changes lives. ~ Rhonda Britten

Explain to me, please, why in our literature and art so often people absolutely incompetent in this field have the final word. ~ Mstislav Rostropovich

These two are not two Love has made them one Amo Ergo Sum! And by its mystery Each is no less but more. ~ Benjamin Britten

I would rather have ideas and some difficulties of technique than a perfect technique and no ideas. ~ Mstislav Rostropovich

Accepting what others see as your strengths is crucial to your continued growth. Compliments are a gift. They are an opportunity for you and another person to connect in a powerful, positive way. How did you handle the last compliment directed at you? Did you accept it? ~ Rhonda Britten

Music is part of history, and our history has lessons that cannot be separated from our greatest music. ~ Mstislav Rostropovich

Is anybody happier,
Because you passed his way?
Does anyone remember
That you spoke to him today?
This day is almost over;
And its toiling time is through;
Is there anyone to utter now?
A friednly word for you?
Can you say tonight in passing
With the days that slipped so fast,
That you helped a single person,
Of the many that you passed?
Is a single heart rejoicing
Over what you did or said?
Does one whose hopes were fading
Now with courage look aheda?
Did you waste the day, or lose it?
Was it well or poorly spent?
Did you leave a trail of kindness
Or a scar of discontent? ~ Samuel Britten

The artist must forget the audience,
forget the critics, forget the technique, forget everything but love for the music.
Then, the music speaks through the performance,
and the performer and the listener will walk together
with the soul of the composer, and with
God. ~ Mstislav Rostropovich

Sometimes, because of its immediacy, television produces a kind of electronic parable. Berlin, for instance, on the day the Wall was opened. Rostropovich was playing his cello by the Wall that no longer cast a shadow, and a million East Berliners were thronging to the West to shop with an allowance given them by West German banks! At that moment the whole world saw how materialism had lost its awesome historic power and become a shopping list. ~ John Berger

Listen to others as if they are telling you the truth, ask questions when you aren't clear, and allow others the room to have different feelings than you. No more assigning hidden motives, prejudging and cutting people off before separating fact from fiction. ~ Rhonda Britten

It is my aim, my destination in life to make the cello as beloved an instrument as the violin and piano. ~ Mstislav Rostropovich

I am an arrogant and impatient listener, but in the case of a few composers, a very few, when I hear a work I do not like, I am convinced that it is my own fault. Verdi is one of those composers. ~ Benjamin Britten

Each precious moment of your life in which you are frozen with fear is a moment when you are not being all you can be. In the end, that hurts more than anything. Succeeding or failing does not determine if we are surviving or living. Rather it is in our ability to reach beyond our present self-imposed definition of who we are, and to risk becoming more, that we are able to feel fully alive. ~ Rhonda Britten

First, my frame of reference for the Britten opera shifted. I'd always thought of Britten's approach in Death in Venice as another exploration of the plight of the individual whose aspirations are at odds with those of the surrounding community: his last opera returning to the themes of Peter Grimes. As I read and listened and thought, however, Billy Budd came to seem a more appropriate foil for Death in Venice. ~ Philip Kitcher

You must play for the love of music. Perfect technique is not as important as making music from the heart. ~ Mstislav Rostropovich

I have a very deep religious belief. ~ Mstislav Rostropovich

In order to make any permanent changes, you have to be willing. Willing to see things differently. Willing to experience new ideas. Willing to listen to the people who cheered you on rather than ones who echoed your fears. ~ Rhonda Britten

Fear is an affirmation of your growth. ~ Rhonda Britten

People are craving this great progress in electronics, going after computers, the Internet, etc. It's a giant progress technologically. But they must have a balance of soul, a balance for human beauty. That means art has an important role. ~ Mstislav Rostropovich

Excuses excuse us from fulfilling our potential. ~ Rhonda Britten

The first is based in fear, the second in fearlessness. ~ Rhonda Britten

Music does not excite until it is performed. ~ Benjamin Britten

You know creators, composers, need a palette for life, a color for life. ~ Mstislav Rostropovich

I like coming to the United States because the United States played an important role in my life. ~ Mstislav Rostropovich

All my life I wanted to play music with love to every member of the audience. ~ Mstislav Rostropovich

If you value yourself, you understand that you are a gift to anyone you meet. ~ Rhonda Britten

I know that after my letter there will be undoubtedly an 'opinion' about me, but I am not afraid of it. I openly say what I think. Talent, of which we are proud, must not be submitted to the assaults of the past. ~ Mstislav Rostropovich

Let go of what you think life should be so you can experience the life you have. ~ Rhonda Britten

Of course, I know everything that happens in Russia. But even at the most dangerous moment or the most negative moment now, it's still 10 times better than what it was in the communist state. ~ Mstislav Rostropovich

Seeing people as innocent is the greatest gift you can give another human being: the gift of acceptance. ~ Rhonda Britten

I liked the opera very much. Everything but the music. ~ Benjamin Britten

The war years were the most difficult time of my life. There was real famine in Moscow. The water froze inside the houses. There was no heat. ~ Mstislav Rostropovich

Where you begin doesn't matter. Your willingness to start is what counts. ~ Rhonda Britten

When I started learning the cello, I fell in love with the instrument because it seemed like a voice - my voice. ~ Mstislav Rostropovich

I listened to Pablo Casals, which was a big change for me. Without hearing Casals, I would never have advanced as I did. ~ Mstislav Rostropovich

Complaining advertizes your fears. ~ Rhonda Britten

When your commitment is to be loving regardless of the circumstances, there is no room for harsh words. You assert yourself not from a desire to control but from a desire to stand for who you are. ~ Rhonda Britten