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
writing pieces paper
When I was speaking about communicating, I meant that the listener - we have to reach the listener; otherwise, of course, you're writing the piece, as I say, only for the satisfaction of seeing it on the paper for yourself, and then it ends right there.
writing men ears
Because essentially Schoenberg was an extremely gifted man. And in spite of many of his theories and so on, when he really began to write music, he still was guided very much by his internal hearing, by what we call your internal ear.
writing important pieces
In writing music, the structure of each piece is a very important factor.
writing thinking burden
I think there have been some periods when the writing almost became a bit of a burden.
writing written
You write it down because finally, when it's written down you do get it out of your system somewhat.
writing thinking want
No, I think that a person writes a poem because they have an inner urge of something that they want to express, and I think it's that inner urge that you want to express when you write a piece of music.
moving writing pieces
I'm really interested in writing a piece of music that will move you, that will really move you. That is really the only reason that I'm writing music.
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.