--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I remember being handed a score composed…" description: "\"I remember being handed a score composed by Mozart at the age of eleven. What could I say? I felt like de Kooning, who was asked to comment on a certai..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/igor-stravinsky-4697_abstract_i-remember-being-handed-a-score-composed_2827672.jpg" --- # I remember being handed a score composed by Mozart at the… ![“I remember being handed a score composed by Mozart at the age of eleven. What could I say? I felt like de Kooning, who was asked to comment on a certain abstract painting, and answered in the negative. He was then told it was the work of a celebrated monkey. 'That's different. For a monkey, it's…” quote by Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/igor-stravinsky-4697_abstract_i-remember-being-handed-a-score-composed_2827672.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/igor-stravinsky-4697_abstract_i-remember-being-handed-a-score-composed_2827672.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/igor-stravinsky-4697_abstract_i-remember-being-handed-a-score-composed_2827672.jpg) > “I remember being handed a score composed by Mozart at the age of eleven. What could I say? I felt like de Kooning, who was asked to comment on a certain abstract painting, and answered in the negative. He was then told it was the work of a celebrated monkey. 'That's different. For a monkey, it's terrific'.” [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Recalling a childhood music experience, the speaker feels like an abstract painter, then is told the work is from a celebrated monkey, highlighting absurd praise. **In simple terms:** Childhood music felt like abstract art, then mocked. Key Takeaway Question absurd praise. Themes art music absurdity Mood reflective critical Type philosophical personal When to use this quote - art critique - music education - self‑esteem Key Concepts creative expression criticism identity Questions to Reflect On - How does criticism shape artistic identity? - What defines true artistic value? A Different Perspective Praise may be sincere but misinterpreted. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Abstract painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract-painting/) [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Monkeys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monkeys/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) ## Related quotes > [I remember being handed a score composed by Mozart at the age of eleven. What could I say? I felt like de Kooning, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/i-remember-being-handed-a-score-composed-by-mozart-at-the-age-of/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [Pollock really invented something. No one painted like him - or de Kooning or Still.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/pollock-really-invented-something-no-one-painted-like-him-or-de/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [It is sobering to consider that when Mozart was my age he had already been dead for a year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/it-is-sobering-to-consider-that-when-mozart-was-my-age-he-had-already/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Because of Mozart, it's all over after the age of seven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/because-of-mozart-it-s-all-over-after-the-age-of-seven/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [It is a sobering thought that when Mozart was my age, he had been dead for two years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/it-is-a-sobering-thought-that-when-mozart-was-my-age-he-had-been-dead/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Abstract paintings must be as real as those created by the 16th century Italians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/abstract-paintings-must-be-as-real-as-those-created-by-the-16th/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [Painting is a duality and abstract painting is an entirely aesthetic thing. It always remains on one level. It is only really interesting in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/painting-is-a-duality-and-abstract-painting-is-an-entirely-aesthetic/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [That’s the huge problem with an abstract painting. When are you done? You’re done when you don’t want to do it anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sillman/that-s-the-huge-problem-with-an-abstract-painting-when-are-you-done/) [Amy Sillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sillman/) > [A lot of my work is about what's abstract and what's pictorial. Is it bubblegum, or is it an abstract painting using bubblegum? The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-colen/a-lot-of-my-work-is-about-what-s-abstract-and-what-s-pictorial-is-it/) [Dan Colen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-colen/) > [I guess I have no motivation to make an abstract painting, even if they sometimes read as abstract. I think, with abstraction, it's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bradley/i-guess-i-have-no-motivation-to-make-an-abstract-painting-even-if/) [Joe Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bradley/) > [I began in 1976, with small abstract paintings that allowed me to do what I had never let myself do: put something down at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/i-began-in-1976-with-small-abstract-paintings-that-allowed-me-to-do/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [The freer the soul, the more abstract painting becomes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/the-freer-the-soul-the-more-abstract-painting-becomes/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [“As I’m debating running for the exit, Nash leans down to whisper at my ear. “Is something wrong?” “I feel like the only splash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-leighton/as-i-m-debating-running-for-the-exit-nash-leans-down-to-whisper-at-my/) [M. Leighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-leighton/) > [We speak of concrete and not abstract painting because nothing is more concrete, more real than a line, a color, a surface.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theo-van-doesburg/we-speak-of-concrete-and-not-abstract-painting-because-nothing-is/) [Theo van Doesburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theo-van-doesburg/) > [When I'm not working on a children's book, I'm painting abstract paintings. That's probably the most joyous thing for me as an artist. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-grandpre/when-i-m-not-working-on-a-children-s-book-i-m-painting-abstract/) [Mary GrandPre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-grandpre/) ## More by Igor Stravinsky > [Why is it that whenever I hear a piece of music I don't like, it's always by Villa Lobos?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/why-is-it-that-whenever-i-hear-a-piece-of-music-i-don-t-like-it-s/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [The trouble with music appreciation in general is that people are taught to have too much respect for music they should be taught to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/the-trouble-with-music-appreciation-in-general-is-that-people-are/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [I remember being handed a score composed by Mozart at the age of eleven. What could I say? I felt like de Kooning, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/i-remember-being-handed-a-score-composed-by-mozart-at-the-age-of/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [We can neither put back the clock nor slow down our forward speed, and as we are already flying pilotless, on instrument controls, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/we-can-neither-put-back-the-clock-nor-slow-down-our-forward-speed-and/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [It is the transcendent (or 'abstract' or 'self-contained') nature of music that the new so called concretism--Pop Art, eighteen-hour slices-of-reality films, musique concrete--opposes. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/it-is-the-transcendent-or-abstract-or-self-contained-nature-of-music/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [Composition is frozen improvisation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/composition-is-frozen-improvisation/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [Money may kindle, but it cannot by itself, and for very long, burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/money-may-kindle-but-it-cannot-by-itself-and-for-very-long-burn/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [One has a nose. The nose scents and it chooses. An artist is simply a kind of pig snouting truffles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/one-has-a-nose-the-nose-scents-and-it-chooses-an-artist-is-simply-a/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [Music is the sole domain in which man realizes the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/music-is-the-sole-domain-in-which-man-realizes-the-present/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [One's belief that one is sincere is not so dangerous as one's conviction that one is right. We all feel we are right; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/one-s-belief-that-one-is-sincere-is-not-so-dangerous-as-one-s/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [A composer is not only an architect but also an inventor, and he should not build houses in which he cannot live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/a-composer-is-not-only-an-architect-but-also-an-inventor-and-he/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [Harpists spend 90 percent of their lives tuning their harps and 10 percent playing out of tune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/harpists-spend-90-percent-of-their-lives-tuning-their-harps-and-10/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [Just as appetite comes by eating, so work brings inspiration, if inspiration is not discernible at the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/just-as-appetite-comes-by-eating-so-work-brings-inspiration-if/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [My childhood was a period of waiting for the moment when I could send everyone and everything connected with it to hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/my-childhood-was-a-period-of-waiting-for-the-moment-when-i-could-send/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [Look for the music on all things, and life will be a symphony of joy. My music is best understood by children and animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/look-for-the-music-on-all-things-and-life-will-be-a-symphony-of-joy/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) [Explore all 107 Igor Stravinsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) ## More Abstract quotes > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wisdom-is-the-abstract-of-the-past-but-beauty-is-the-promise-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where human eyes have never seen, where human beings have never been, I build a world of abstract dreams, and I wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/where-human-eyes-have-never-seen-where-human-beings-have-never-been-i/) [Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/) > [A little too abstract, a little too wise, It is time for us to kiss the earth again, It is time to let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/a-little-too-abstract-a-little-too-wise-it-is-time-for-us-to-kiss-the/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [“Happy is very abstract, you can't touch it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-veal/happy-is-very-abstract-you-can-t-touch-it/) [Julius Veal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-veal/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-more-horrible-this-world-as-today-for-instance-the-more-abstract/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Describing comic sensibility is near impossible. It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/) Anthony W. Ivins > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. Some or all of these elements move,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/a-mobile-is-an-abstract-sculpture-made-chiefly-out-of-sheet-metal/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [I'm this superphilosophical kind of person. Stuck in a prison of abstract ideas and overpowering emotions, I have this personality that makes it really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsuo-kirino/i-m-this-superphilosophical-kind-of-person-stuck-in-a-prison-of/) [Natsuo Kirino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsuo-kirino/) > [Future lawyers should be more aware that law is not a system of abstract logic, but the web of arrangements, rooted in history but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/future-lawyers-should-be-more-aware-that-law-is-not-a-system-of/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [The trouble is that when you read criticisms about the other films that I've made you get the impression that they're all about themes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/the-trouble-is-that-when-you-read-criticisms-about-the-other-films/) [Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/) > [Painting is... a richer language than words... Painting operates through signs which are not abstract and incorporeal like words. The signs of painting are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/painting-is-a-richer-language-than-words-painting-operates-through/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) [Browse all 1,403 Abstract quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I remember being handed a score composed by Mozart at the age of eleven. What could I say? I felt like de Kooning, who was asked to comment on a certain abstract painting, and answered in the negative. He was then told it was the work of a celebrated monkey. 'That's different. For a monkey, it's terrific'.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Igor Stravinsky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/i-remember-being-handed-a-score-composed-by-mozart-at-the-age-of-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abstract" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/i-remember-being-handed-a-score-composed-by-mozart-at-the-age-of-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/igor-stravinsky-4697_abstract_i-remember-being-handed-a-score-composed_2827672.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/igor-stravinsky-4697_abstract_i-remember-being-handed-a-score-composed_2827672.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/igor-stravinsky-4697_abstract_i-remember-being-handed-a-score-composed_2827672.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I remember being handed a score composed by Mozart at the age of eleven. What could I say? I felt like de…” — Igor Stravinsky", "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": "Igor Stravinsky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I remember being handed a score...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/i-remember-being-handed-a-score-composed-by-mozart-at-the-age-of-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/i-remember-being-handed-a-score-composed-by-mozart-at-the-age-of-2/#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 } } ] } ```