Says you!
If a great composer says something, do we have
to take his word for it?
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One of the dangers of
reading pianonoise is that you get encouraged to
think. I mean really think, not think the way
most people use the word most often, as in I
think I'll have a sandwich or I think it's sunny
out. I mean cogitate, think for yourself, puzzle
it out, and if somebody is presenting an
opinion, consider whether you ought to adopt it
first before you click on accept. Read the fine
print, figure out their agenda, try to find out
where their ideas have come from, and whether or
not you think they are still valid. It's not a
popular concept, believe me.
And if that isn't obnoxious
enough, we model it here by sometimes coming to
blows with the august dead. For instance, here
is a page about something
Bach said and why he
might have said it. And
another one.
Bach didn't say very much,
and he didn't generally explain himself either.
Mozart, on the other hand, wrote a lot of
surviving letters, had lots of opinions to share
with lots of people, and as such is an authority
on practically everything.
read on |
