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On Composition of Music and the Purpose of the Arts
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“…Human-created art begins with self-dialogue, with self-consciousness in the widest sense, and ends with the communication of what we see of ourselves and others, and of what they see of themselves and of us. An artist’s self-dialogue is a constant adjusting, correcting, re-balancing, of elements within himself. The very basis of life is to develop imbalances – often unconsciously – which we then correct. Perfect balance with no separation, would be no life at all; continuous imbalance would offer no means or resolution. …”
“… Our basic yearning for balance is a kind of nostalgia for a state of perfect equilibrium: happiness is not only a feeling or condition we aim for in the future, it is a conception of balance that is alive deep within us from our experience of the womb. How to reconcile this internally-held ideal of perfect balance with the flux of everyday activity is the basic problem of human life. Life itself is a constant state of movement. …”
“… We all have a need to be at one with ourselves, in order to withstand the onslaught of unbalancing factors, of a thousand and one kinds, from inside and outside: ill-health, discomfort, frustration, and so forth, as well as interaction with other people, who themselves are at the mercy of unbalancing factors. It is precisely at this point of universal human need that art can make its most influential contribution. …”
From: Conversations with Menuhin, by Robin Daniels
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