““Mattheson was perhaps too clever for his own good; nonetheless the smart money was on this sophisticated and broadly educated polymath. Later on he wrote about music from the vantage point of practical experience, not only as an observer but also as a trained professional. He considered opera houses essential to civic pride, a necessity, like having efficient banks: ‘The latter provide for general security, the former for education and refreshment … where the best banks are, so too are the best opera houses,’ he maintained.””
![“Talent [by which I think she meant technique] without genius is not worth much; but genius without talent is worth nothing whatsoever.” quote by John Eliot Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/aca/john-eliot-gardiner-43841_intelligence_talent-by-which-i-think-she-meant-techni_998528.jpg)
