--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you are known as this cutting-edge…" description: "\"When you are known as this cutting-edge composer all the time... it's no longer cutting-edge.\" — Du Yun" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/096/du-yun-31766_composer_when-you-are-known-as-this-cutting-edge_2955605.jpg" --- # When you are known as this cutting-edge composer all the… ![“When you are known as this cutting-edge composer all the time... it's no longer cutting-edge.” quote by Du Yun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/096/du-yun-31766_composer_when-you-are-known-as-this-cutting-edge_2955605.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/096/du-yun-31766_composer_when-you-are-known-as-this-cutting-edge_2955605.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/096/du-yun-31766_composer_when-you-are-known-as-this-cutting-edge_2955605.jpg) > “When you are known as this cutting-edge composer all the time... it's no longer cutting-edge.” [Du Yun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/du-yun/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Being constantly labeled as avant‑garde eventually erodes the novelty and freedom of innovation. **In simple terms:** Labels can trap creators in expectations. Key Takeaway Stay true to evolving ideas, not static titles. Themes creativity identity innovation Mood reflective determined Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - musical composition - career development - public perception - branding - art criticism Key Concepts artistic freedom labeling effect Questions to Reflect On - How do you keep your work fresh without relying on hype? - What strategies can artists use to avoid being pigeonholed? A Different Perspective The pressure to maintain a cutting‑edge reputation may stifle risk‑taking. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Composer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composer/) [Composer Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composer-time-1393126/) [Cutting edge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting-edge/) [Edge Composer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edge-composer-4475753/) [Known](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/known/) [Longer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longer/) [Longer Cutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longer-cutting-4475754/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) ## Related quotes > [I really liked doing a number of the projects and directors, and etc., etc., I knew about half-way through that I would never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-elfman/i-really-liked-doing-a-number-of-the-projects-and-directors-and-etc/) [Danny Elfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-elfman/) > [Give the composer time to experiment, time to try out ideas. Also, the time to fail. When the composer has very little time, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-johannsson/give-the-composer-time-to-experiment-time-to-try-out-ideas-also-the/) [Johann Johannsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-johannsson/) > [It's funny because as a composer, you want to hear your songs live on. 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I just like to be on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kirkpatrick/i-enjoy-trying-to-inspire-myself-i-enjoy-the-artistic-side-of/) [Chris Kirkpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kirkpatrick/) > [“The fashion look of teens and twentysomethings -once so cutting edge- is now, like most of the music played on the radio, a matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-strongman/the-fashion-look-of-teens-and-twentysomethings-once-so-cutting-edge/) [Phil Strongman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-strongman/) > [I always want to be on the cutting edge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-peretti/i-always-want-to-be-on-the-cutting-edge/) [Frank Peretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-peretti/) > [I have tried to remain a working, cutting-edge journalist and I don't do it the way everybody else does it. And I think that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-rather/i-have-tried-to-remain-a-working-cutting-edge-journalist-and-i-don-t/) [Dan Rather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-rather/) > [When I started it still wasn't okay to be this age and still make this kind of music. And believe me, I consider our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-benatar/when-i-started-it-still-wasn-t-okay-to-be-this-age-and-still-make/) [Pat Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-benatar/) > [I've always strived to maintain a very healthy, friendly working situation, and lo and behold, it only took forty years, so the next sixty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/i-ve-always-strived-to-maintain-a-very-healthy-friendly-working/) [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) > [Art fairs bring attention to up and coming artists and some amazing new works. They are a way to connect everyone with what's happening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-allen/art-fairs-bring-attention-to-up-and-coming-artists-and-some-amazing/) [Paul Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-allen/) > [I’m a high-tech low-life. A cutting edge, state-of-the-art bi-coastal multi-tasker and I can give you a gigabyte in a nanosecond!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-m-a-high-tech-low-life-a-cutting-edge-state-of-the-art-bi-coastal/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [“Knowledge as a past fact, as something dead and done with—knowledge by the time it gets into encyclopaedias and text-books—does consist of assertion, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-g-collingwood/knowledge-as-a-past-fact-as-something-dead-and-done-with-knowledge-by/) [R. G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-g-collingwood/) > [What's the difference between obsolete and cutting edge? Obsolete works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/what-s-the-difference-between-obsolete-and-cutting-edge-obsolete-works/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) ## More by Du Yun > [Some of my contemporaries don't want to talk about the female problem because they feel like whenever they get a teaching position or an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/du-yun/some-of-my-contemporaries-don-t-want-to-talk-about-the-female-problem/) [Du Yun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/du-yun/) > [I like a lot of different things equally, with no boundaries, and in a very serious way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/du-yun/i-like-a-lot-of-different-things-equally-with-no-boundaries-and-in-a/) [Du Yun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/du-yun/) > [I'm always going to use music, use culture as a tool to engage people to have this dialog, to enable others. That's very important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/du-yun/i-m-always-going-to-use-music-use-culture-as-a-tool-to-engage-people/) [Du Yun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/du-yun/) > [A lot of times, politics, global issues are very black and white. There is a place for that, but it's also fantastic to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/du-yun/a-lot-of-times-politics-global-issues-are-very-black-and-white-there/) [Du Yun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/du-yun/) > [The more tools I have, the more freedom I have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/du-yun/the-more-tools-i-have-the-more-freedom-i-have/) [Du Yun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/du-yun/) > [I'm the benefactor of people who are doing so much hard work championing women composers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/du-yun/i-m-the-benefactor-of-people-who-are-doing-so-much-hard-work/) [Du Yun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/du-yun/) > [Art music is an evolving matter, and so are a lot of cities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/du-yun/art-music-is-an-evolving-matter-and-so-are-a-lot-of-cities/) [Du Yun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/du-yun/) > [I think the dark psychology of human beings is very interesting as an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/du-yun/i-think-the-dark-psychology-of-human-beings-is-very-interesting-as-an/) [Du Yun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/du-yun/) > [In pop music, people take a stand. When you look at a Beyonce or a Kendrick Lamar, they are going to tell you what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/du-yun/in-pop-music-people-take-a-stand-when-you-look-at-a-beyonce-or-a/) [Du Yun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/du-yun/) > [It's about how you're using the space. That's what makes live music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/du-yun/it-s-about-how-you-re-using-the-space-that-s-what-makes-live-music/) [Du Yun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/du-yun/) > [When we look at human trafficking, we always think that it's far away from us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/du-yun/when-we-look-at-human-trafficking-we-always-think-that-it-s-far-away/) [Du Yun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/du-yun/) > [I'm not a programmer; I'm more of a performer. I'm really bad at math.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/du-yun/i-m-not-a-programmer-i-m-more-of-a-performer-i-m-really-bad-at-math/) [Du Yun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/du-yun/) > [We need to educate our audience. It's so important to have diversity. Let's not fear different voices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/du-yun/we-need-to-educate-our-audience-it-s-so-important-to-have-diversity/) [Du Yun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/du-yun/) > [I'm a very textural composer. I care a lot about textures and gestures. Electronics add so much to that. It's like a flavor -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/du-yun/i-m-a-very-textural-composer-i-care-a-lot-about-textures-and-gestures/) [Du Yun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/du-yun/) > [We all have our own narrative of what human trafficking is supposed to be, but if you do a little research, human trafficking happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/du-yun/we-all-have-our-own-narrative-of-what-human-trafficking-is-supposed/) [Du Yun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/du-yun/) [Explore all 16 Du Yun quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/du-yun/) ## 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": "When you are known as this cutting-edge composer all the time... it's no longer cutting-edge.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Du Yun" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/du-yun/when-you-are-known-as-this-cutting-edge-composer-all-the-time-it-s-no/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Composer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/du-yun/when-you-are-known-as-this-cutting-edge-composer-all-the-time-it-s-no/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/096/du-yun-31766_composer_when-you-are-known-as-this-cutting-edge_2955605.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/096/du-yun-31766_composer_when-you-are-known-as-this-cutting-edge_2955605.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/096/du-yun-31766_composer_when-you-are-known-as-this-cutting-edge_2955605.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you are known as this cutting-edge composer all the time... it's no longer cutting-edge.” — Du Yun", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Du Yun", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/du-yun/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When you are known as this...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/du-yun/when-you-are-known-as-this-cutting-edge-composer-all-the-time-it-s-no/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/du-yun/when-you-are-known-as-this-cutting-edge-composer-all-the-time-it-s-no/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```