Charles Rosen

“Tonality is not a system of rules, but a hierarchy of sensations.”

“The creation of a classical style was not a matter of discovering a set of 'natural' laws, but of creating a new language.”

“The death of classical music is perhaps its oldest continuing tradition.”

“What is irreplaceable in a work of art is the feeling of a whole personality.”

“The new music of any age has always been conceived as dissonant.”

“For a work of art to be considered a classic, it must be both intelligible and inexplicable.”

“It is in the nature of the artistic masterpiece to be so rich that it is impossible to exhaust its significance.”

“The history of music is the history of its composition, not of its performance.”

“The great paradox of musical interpretation is that the best is both personal and impersonal.”

“A musical style is not a collection of devices but a way of thinking.”

“The sense of the past is not a luxury for the artist, but a necessity.”

“No one has ever been able to figure out how to be a composer and a pianist at the same time.”