George Perle quotes

“I would not want you to suppose that my rejection of Allen Forte's theory of pitch-class sets implies a rejection of the notion that there can be such a thing as a pitch-class set. It is only when one defines everything in terms of pitch-class sets that the concept becomes meaningless.”
-- George Perle

Source : George Perle (1990). “The Listening Composer”, p.67, Univ of California Press

#Class Quotes #Rejection Quotes #Want Quotes

“If...[Alban] Berg departs so radically from tradition, through his substitution of a symmetrical partitioning of the octave for the asymmetrical partionings of the major/minor system, he departs just as radically from the twelve-tone tradition that is represented in the music of Schoenberg and Webern, for whom the twelve-tone series was always an integral structure that could be transposed only as a unit, and for whom twelve-tone music always implied a constant and equivalent circulation of the totality of pitch classes.”
-- George Perle

#Class Quotes #Twelve Quotes #Tone Quotes

“Every bit of theorizing I've ever done, including my interest in Berg, has come as a consequence of discoveries I made as a composer and interests that I developed as a composer. I never thought of my theory as being a kind of irrelevant activity to my composing.”
-- George Perle

Source : "George Perle, a Composer and Theorist, Dies at 93" by Allan Kozinn, www.nytimes.com. January 24, 2009.

#Discovery Quotes #Done Quotes #Kind Quotes

“If... [Alban] Berg departs so radically from tradition, through his substitution of a symmetrical partitioning of the octave for the asymmetrical partionings of the major/minor system, he departs just as radically from the twelve-tone tradition that is represented in the music of Schoenberg and Webern, for whom the twelve-tone series was always an integral structure that could be transposed only as a unit, and for whom twelve-tone music always implied a constant and equivalent circulation of the totality of pitch classes.”
-- George Perle

Source : "The Listening Composer". Book by George Perle, p. 98, 1990.

#Class Quotes #Tone Quotes #Twelve Quotes

“In the 18th century, James Hargreaves invented the Spinning Jenny, and Richard Arkwright pioneered the water-propelled spinning frame which led to the mass production of cotton. This was truly revolutionary. The cotton manufacturers created a whole new class of people - the urban proletariat. The structure of society itself would never be the same.”

“Salvation for a race, nation or class must come from within. Freedom is never granted; it is won. Justice is never given; it is exacted.”

Source : "A. Philip Randolph: A Biographical Portrait". Book by Jervis Anderson, epigraph, p. VII, 1972.

“Ten years ago I said, you know, my goal is to be able to get food on the table. What I'm trying to say by that is trying to create a vibrant, capable and effective middle class. The quicker and stronger that we can be able to do this, the easier it is for political reform to move forward.”

“Every time a congressman or pundit says its 'class warfare' to increase taxes on the wealthy, it's a massive lie.”

“I’d recommend learning to accept rejection. Become friends with rejection. Be nice to rejection, because it’s a huge part of being a writer, no matter where you are in your career.”

“The goal lies away from the sensual world. It is not a rejection of the sensual world, but understanding it so well that we no longer seek it as an end in itself. We no longer expect the sensory world to satisfy us. We no longer demand that sensory consciousness be anything other than an existing condition that we can use skillfully according to time and place.”

“Its all gone pretty fast. I dont want to move on, but I know I have to.”

“There are certain things I want to keep to me. I don't discuss my private life.”

“Our society covers these problems with a veil. All I want is an open discussion”

“Luke, I don't want to discourage your curiosity, but I have to remind you, if something goes wrong, this is an exceptionally embarassing way to die." Mara”