The Muse and the Fashion

by Nikolai Medtner, Alfred J. Swan (Translator)

Only too infrequently are we privileged to hear music discussed by those who stand at its fount. Creators are not prone to let us enter into their sanctum. Even the most effusive of them seem to eschew the subject of inspiration, or the acquisition of themes, or the processes of development to which these themes are subjected; and devote their writing to general aesthetic ideas (Wagner), matters of orchestration (Berlioz, Rimsky-Korsakov), or criticism of other composers (Schumann, Debussy). Medtner's book is a remarkable exception, dealing, as it does, with the essentials, foundations, the everlasting laws of musical creation.

146 pages, Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 1951