Leo Ornstein
Leo Ornstein
Leo Ornstein was an American composer and pianist of the early twentieth century. His performances of works by avant-garde composers and his own innovative and even shocking pieces made him a cause célèbre on both sides of the Atlantic...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionComposer
Date of Birth2 December 1893
CountryUnited States of America
chord form music ought paradox pursue simply struck true
There is a paradox because I think you've struck a chord there that we ought to simply pursue - it is true that music is a form of communication.
bit looks patterns primarily surprised time
Every time I'm a bit surprised always, what the patterns look like and what the whole thing looks like because, of course, I primarily hear.
carried ceases far longer matter point pull
It doesn't matter how far I may have carried some of the things, but I always pull back at the point where it ceases any longer to really be music.
completed hear interested next simply work
Yes, well, I tell you, because once I have completed a work, I simply am interested only in what I may hear in the next work that's coming.
concerned hears listeners looks paper stays ultimately
What it looks like on paper may be interesting enough, but what the listeners hears is ultimately what stays with him, that he is concerned with.
acquainted aesthetic begin estimate gets hear piece until value
Today, with a recording, he can hear the thing enough times until he really gets acquainted with the language, and then he can begin to make an estimate of the intrinsic, aesthetic value of that piece of music.
aesthetic aware danger experience grave intrigued involved listener means track
The danger of that - and there's a grave danger that I, myself, have to be very aware of - is that you become so involved and intrigued in the language that sometimes you lose track that that is only a means to an aesthetic experience that the listener has to get.
acts believe playing superior totally
Well, no. I believe that it's not at all impossible that some of the performances that I've heard so far by some pianists may be superior to my own playing because those are two totally different acts altogether.
certain decided definitely impact leave simply
Some I made, that I definitely wanted in a certain way, and some I simply decided to leave to the discretion, to the impact of the performer, himself.
amusing anecdotes consider life personal
I consider that my own personal life and anecdotes may be amusing enough and interesting enough, but they're in a different realm.
hear interested producing reason unless work
I'm interested in producing a work of art, and unless I hear the thing thoroughly, I would have no reason to put it down at all.
almost apparently eyes guided operate people
I know that there are some people who apparently operate with their eyes on the paper. They are more guided almost by the pattern.
military people precision
To the person that deals in visualizations, I suppose there is something rather exciting about a whole set of people - they all going symmetrically, up or down, in a military sort of precision.
distrust
I distrust anything that you don't hear.