--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Stravinsky the composer I worship…" description: "\"Stravinsky the composer I worship. Stravinsky the thinker I despise.\" — Dmitri Shostakovich" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d3/dmitri-shostakovich-19403_composer_stravinsky-the-composer-i-worship-stravi_2064926.jpg" --- # Stravinsky the composer I worship. Stravinsky the thinker… ![“Stravinsky the composer I worship. Stravinsky the thinker I despise.” quote by Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d3/dmitri-shostakovich-19403_composer_stravinsky-the-composer-i-worship-stravi_2064926.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d3/dmitri-shostakovich-19403_composer_stravinsky-the-composer-i-worship-stravi_2064926.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d3/dmitri-shostakovich-19403_composer_stravinsky-the-composer-i-worship-stravi_2064926.jpg) > “Stravinsky the composer I worship. Stravinsky the thinker I despise.” [Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-shostakovich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker admires Stravinsky's music but rejects his intellectual stance, highlighting a split between artistic appreciation and philosophical disagreement. **In simple terms:** Love the music, dislike the ideas. Key Takeaway Separate art from the artist. Themes art appreciation philosophy conflict Mood thoughtful analytical Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - listening to compositions - discussing music theory - educational curricula - personal taste - cultural criticism Key Concepts aesthetic value intellectual critique Questions to Reflect On - Can you enjoy art without endorsing its creator's beliefs? - When does criticism become dismissal? A Different Perspective It may simplify a complex relationship between art and thought. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Composer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composer/) [Composer Worship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composer-worship-3958652/) [Despise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despise/) [Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stravinsky/) [Stravinsky Composer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stravinsky-composer-3958651/) [Stravinsky Thinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stravinsky-thinker-3958649/) [Thinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinker/) [Worship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worship/) [Worship Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worship-stravinsky-3958650/) ## Related quotes > [The most uninteresting part of the biography of a composer is his childhood. All those preludes are the same and the reader hurries on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-shostakovich/the-most-uninteresting-part-of-the-biography-of-a-composer-is-his/) [Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-shostakovich/) > [Many consider that Shostakovich is the greatest 20th-century composer. In his 15 symphonies, 15 quartets, and in other works he demonstrated mastery of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-shostakovich/many-consider-that-shostakovich-is-the-greatest-20th-century-composer/) [Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-shostakovich/) > [I've got a very wide taste in art. I like Russian icon painters. I like Salvador Dali. It's like music. Sometimes you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-webber/i-ve-got-a-very-wide-taste-in-art-i-like-russian-icon-painters-i-like/) [Peter Webber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-webber/) > [There is this tremendous amount of arrogance and hubris, where somebody can look at something for five minutes and dismiss it. Whether you talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/there-is-this-tremendous-amount-of-arrogance-and-hubris-where/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [“The racist regime thought classical music was for the white audience only. Stravinsky insisted on performing for the black audience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bbc-african-journalist/the-racist-regime-thought-classical-music-was-for-the-white-audience/) [BBC African journalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bbc-african-journalist/) > [I'm not Stravinsky, I never will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/i-m-not-stravinsky-i-never-will-be/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [I had no idea Stravinsky disliked Debussy so much as this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-newman/i-had-no-idea-stravinsky-disliked-debussy-so-much-as-this/) [Ernest Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-newman/) > [Pulse as an active means of expression, Stravinsky and Beethoven are the two masters of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esa-pekka-salonen/pulse-as-an-active-means-of-expression-stravinsky-and-beethoven-are/) [Esa-Pekka Salonen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esa-pekka-salonen/) > [The first music I was exposed to was Stravinsky and I loved it but I don't remember it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-kottke/the-first-music-i-was-exposed-to-was-stravinsky-and-i-loved-it-but-i/) [Leo Kottke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-kottke/) > [In two thousand years all our generals and politicians may be forgotten, but Einstein and Madame Curie and Bernard Shaw and Stravinsky will keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/in-two-thousand-years-all-our-generals-and-politicians-may-be/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“The man has accumulated a repertoire of facial tics and blinks that demand nothing less than a complete musical score by Stravinsky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-man-has-accumulated-a-repertoire-of-facial-tics-and-blinks-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The trombone and side-drums in the chamber music of Stravinsky will do well enough in a very smart house-party where all the conversation is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-francis-tovey/the-trombone-and-side-drums-in-the-chamber-music-of-stravinsky-will/) [Donald Francis Tovey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-francis-tovey/) > [Bernard Herrmann used to write all his scores by himself. So did Bach, Beethoven and Stravinsky. I dont understand why this happens in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ennio-morricone/bernard-herrmann-used-to-write-all-his-scores-by-himself-so-did-bach/) [Ennio Morricone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ennio-morricone/) > [New music? Hell, there's been no new music since Stravinsky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/new-music-hell-there-s-been-no-new-music-since-stravinsky/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [It's something he used to say when he was happy. It could be a very, very simple day. We might be sitting out on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-grant/it-s-something-he-used-to-say-when-he-was-happy-it-could-be-a-very/) [Jennifer Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-grant/) ## More by Dmitri Shostakovich > [When a man is in despair, it means that he still believes in something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-shostakovich/when-a-man-is-in-despair-it-means-that-he-still-believes-in-something/) [Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-shostakovich/) > [It's about the people, who have stopped believing because the cup of evil has run over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-shostakovich/it-s-about-the-people-who-have-stopped-believing-because-the-cup-of/) [Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-shostakovich/) > [I don't know what will become of this piece. Our brave critics will no doubt charge me with imitating Ravel's Bolero. 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In his 15 symphonies, 15 quartets, and in other works he demonstrated mastery of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-shostakovich/many-consider-that-shostakovich-is-the-greatest-20th-century-composer/) [Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-shostakovich/) > [I live in the USSR, work actively and count naturally on the worker and peasant spectator. If I am not comprehensible to them I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-shostakovich/i-live-in-the-ussr-work-actively-and-count-naturally-on-the-worker/) [Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-shostakovich/) > [Football is the ballet of the masses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-shostakovich/football-is-the-ballet-of-the-masses/) [Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-shostakovich/) > [Music is good, not evil. Poetry is good, not evil. Primitive, but oh, so true!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-shostakovich/music-is-good-not-evil-poetry-is-good-not-evil-primitive-but-oh-so/) [Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-shostakovich/) > [In the long run, any words about music are less important than the music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-shostakovich/in-the-long-run-any-words-about-music-are-less-important-than-the/) [Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-shostakovich/) > [Real music is always revolutionary, for it cements the ranks of the people; it arouses them and leads them onward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-shostakovich/real-music-is-always-revolutionary-for-it-cements-the-ranks-of-the/) [Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-shostakovich/) > [The most uninteresting part of the biography of a composer is his childhood. All those preludes are the same and the reader hurries on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-shostakovich/the-most-uninteresting-part-of-the-biography-of-a-composer-is-his/) [Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-shostakovich/) > [The real geniuses know where their writing has to be good and where they can get away with some mediocrity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-shostakovich/the-real-geniuses-know-where-their-writing-has-to-be-good-and-where/) [Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-shostakovich/) > [What you have in your head, put down on paper. The head is a fragile vessel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-shostakovich/what-you-have-in-your-head-put-down-on-paper-the-head-is-a-fragile/) [Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-shostakovich/) > [We should think more about it, and accustom ourselves to the thought of death. We can't allow the fear of death to creep up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-shostakovich/we-should-think-more-about-it-and-accustom-ourselves-to-the-thought/) [Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-shostakovich/) [Explore all 32 Dmitri Shostakovich quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-shostakovich/) ## More Composer quotes > [A composer knows that music is written by human beings for human beings and that music is a continuation of life, not something separated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-eisler/a-composer-knows-that-music-is-written-by-human-beings-for-human/) [Hanns Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanns-eisler/) > [Bruce Katz is a spectacular talent! He's a brilliant composer and arranger who uses uncommon and unique musical intelligence to redefine jazz and blues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-coryell/bruce-katz-is-a-spectacular-talent-he-s-a-brilliant-composer-and/) [Larry Coryell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-coryell/) > [Trombone virtuoso and innovative composer, Papo combines the best of jazz and Latin music to create a genre that is unique and wild. He's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-brecker/trombone-virtuoso-and-innovative-composer-papo-combines-the-best-of/) [Michael Brecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-brecker/) > [“- Mom, can I tell them there that I'm Romanian? - Sure, why not tell them? - I was thinking that they wouldn't think...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-enescu/mom-can-i-tell-them-there-that-i-m-romanian-sure-why-not-tell-them-i/) [George Enescu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-enescu/) > [The number of e-mails and letters that I get from choreographers, from sculptors, from composers who are being inspired by science is huge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/the-number-of-e-mails-and-letters-that-i-get-from-choreographers-from/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [The architect is very interesting because the architect is the commander, meaning the one who commands all the workers. The architect is also the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-architect-is-very-interesting-because-the-architect-is-the/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [If a composer could state in words what being a composer means, he would no longer need to be a composer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/if-a-composer-could-state-in-words-what-being-a-composer-means-he/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [Seen from the point of view of the composer, the most nonsensical practice is that of casting people in musicals who are unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gold/seen-from-the-point-of-view-of-the-composer-the-most-nonsensical/) [Ernest Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gold/) > [I think there's just been this "thing" that's developed, this way that we have of talking about our music that alienates people. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/missy-mazzoli/i-think-there-s-just-been-this-thing-that-s-developed-this-way-that/) [Missy Mazzoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/missy-mazzoli/) > [The ability to understand and deliver comedy and tragedy is extremely rare in one composer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/signe-baumane/the-ability-to-understand-and-deliver-comedy-and-tragedy-is-extremely/) [Signe Baumane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/signe-baumane/) > [When synthesizers appeared everyone was a composer suddenly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-desplat/when-synthesizers-appeared-everyone-was-a-composer-suddenly/) [Alexandre Desplat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-desplat/) > [A mission that comes from the heart to promote these things and to encourage composers to write, then of course they should do it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-andre-hamelin/a-mission-that-comes-from-the-heart-to-promote-these-things-and-to/) [Marc-Andre Hamelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-andre-hamelin/) > [The beauty and genius of a work of art may be reconceived, though its first material expression be destroyed; a vanished harmony may yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-beebe/the-beauty-and-genius-of-a-work-of-art-may-be-reconceived-though-its/) [William Beebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-beebe/) > [Every time I see a film or TV show, I think about how that composer made those choices and how that director envisioned music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lopez/every-time-i-see-a-film-or-tv-show-i-think-about-how-that-composer/) [Robert Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lopez/) > [Like any other composer of opera, I choose a subject not for polemical reasons, but because it contains vivid characters in highly charged dramatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlisle-floyd/like-any-other-composer-of-opera-i-choose-a-subject-not-for-polemical/) [Carlisle Floyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlisle-floyd/) [Browse all 885 Composer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Stravinsky the composer I worship. 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