Arthur Honegger
Arthur Honegger
Arthur Honeggerwas a Swiss composer, who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. He was a member of Les Six. His most frequently performed work is probably the orchestral work Pacific 231, which was inspired by the sound of a steam locomotive...
NationalitySwiss
ProfessionComposer
Date of Birth10 March 1892
CountrySwitzerland
music demand want
The public doesn't want new music; the main thing it demands of a composer is that he be dead.
wall writing miracle
To write music is to raise a ladder without a wall to lean it against. There is no scaffolding: the building under construction is held in balance only by the miracle of a kind of internal logic, an innate sense of proportion.
reflection giving mind
To tell the truth, in Pacific 231 I was on the trail of a very abstract and quite ideal concept, by giving the impression of a mathematical acceleration of rhythm, while the movement itself slowed . I first called this piece Mouvement symphonique. On reflection I found that a bit colorless. Suddenly, a rather romantic image crossed my mind, and when the work was finished, I wrote the title Pacific 231, which indicates a locomotive for heavy loads and high speeds (a type unfortunately disappeared, alas, and sacrificed to electric traction).
madness composing profession
Composing is not a profession. It is a maniaa harmless madness.
music-is geometry
Music is geometry in time.
horse creatures locomotives
I have always loved locomotives passionately. For me they are living creatures and I love them as others love women or horses.
firsts requirements composer
The first requirement for a composer is to be dead.
want modern composer
The modern composer is a madman who persists in manufacturing an article which nobody wants.
composer dead death doubt
There is no doubt that the first requirement for a composer is to be dead