Music: A Book of Quotations

by Herb Galewitz (Editor), Herb Galewitz (Editor)

What is music? "God's best gift to man," as Walter Savage Landor said? "The moonlight in the gloomy night of life," as Jean Paul Richter put it? Or perhaps—as Carl Maria von Weber and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow agree —"the universal language of mankind"? Whatever it is, it certainly "hath charms to soothe the savage breast," as William Congreve famously observed. And it "expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent" (Victor Hugo).
These and more than 400 other striking quotes about music, from musicians, authors, poets, historical figures, and other celebrities, fill the pages of this entertaining, practical little book. Not all are on the serious side; many are deliciously "Her singing was mutiny on the high C's" (Hedda Hopper); "I can hold a note as long as the Chase National Bank" (Ethel Merman); "Donny Osmond has van Gogh's ear for music" (Orson Welles).
The quotations are arranged alphabetically according to author, from Fred Allen ("When Jack Benny plays the violin, it sounds as if the strings are still back in the cat") to Florian Zabach ("A musical talent is like having six fingers on one hand. You're born with it, you're different because of it, you can't do a thing about it except put it to use"). They constitute a collection that will not only be an indispensable reference for public speakers but will also delight general readers—especially music lovers—with its enduring wisdom and humor.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

64 pages, Paperback

First published April 19, 2001

Reviews

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dover Thrift Editions publishes several books of quotes and this collection is among them, but it is one of the harder to review and engage. Herb Galewitz, who served as editor, provides a work that engages well enough, but the topic is broad and, even without being an expert musician, I thought of some rather notable quotes that were absent. Galewitz is a capable editor, but whereas other quote books from Dover are often arranged by topics, all 400+ quotes in the music collection are arranged alphabetically by speaker, making it a little more difficult to navigate or find general quotes on a broad topic or area of music. Still, this quote book might readily engage music performers or students.

[Delanie Dooms · Rating 3 out of 5]

Music is a book in the long, ancient line of volumes dedicated exclusively to famous or otherwise provoking quotations. Whether they be from authors, cooks, or, as in this case, musicians, these books tend to baffle me from the very beginning: I do not know why they exist. They lack that overarching context which would give them a more deep meaning, and, if we think that they are for starting a conversation, then the attachment of any specific musician, author, or chief is superfluous. Thus, I do not understand this volume, and shall give it an easy 3 stars.