Tilting at Windmills
"IF jit must be Richard, let it be Wegner; if it must be Strauss, let it be Johann!" I forget where I found this quotation, but it means, in other words, that the speaker won’t have Richard Strauss at any price. There are many people who decry this composer’s works, but who haven’t listened to any of his major compositions, and therefore aren’t
entitled to express an opinion. Knowing only a few of his songs, which I find inspiring, I decided to listen to 4YO’s presentation of his "Don Quixote," played
by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. I found myself less entitled than ever to express an opinion, after it was over, It is programme music entirely, and seems to require in the listener not only a detailed knowledge of music but a detailed knowledge of Cervantes. Although I listened with a fascinated ear, seeming to hear windmills and the clash of dilapidated lances, I wondered afterwards what sort of imagery the music would have conjured up for me had I not known its title beforehand.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19441222.2.15.7
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 12, Issue 287, 22 December 1944, Page 8
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179Tilting at Windmills New Zealand Listener, Volume 12, Issue 287, 22 December 1944, Page 8
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Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
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