Death Quote by Lyudmila Ulitskaya
““After the funeral, they went to a private club in Chelsea, where they drank and jammed the night away together—greats and nobodies alike. The slightly acrimonious, sardonic Mickey, a fan of folk and world music, would have been pleased. [...] Yurik played, too, his own composition, which he had been working on for the entire year. In memory of Mickey. For it was Mickey, who had lived so easily, so lightly, and had died so painfully, who had instilled in Yurik the consciousness that, in the highest sense, music had no authorship. It was a gift, and an ability to read the divine book, to transpose a universal sound that needed no notation into the language of paltry musical instruments, invented for the convenience and purpose of transmitting supremely important messages—messages that could not be conveyed in any other way ... And the best ears, the best hearts and souls of this spiritual dimension called music, listened to Yurik's song that evening. And heard it.””
About This Quote
Music is portrayed as a transcendent language that bypasses conventional notation, allowing deep emotional and spiritual communication beyond ordinary expression.
In simple terms: Music transcends notation to convey profound meaning.
Music can express what words cannot.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- post-funeral gathering
- private club jam session
- artist tribute
- intimate performance
- cultural exchange
Key Concepts
Practical Applications
- facilitating communal healing
- illustrating music’s role in memorials
Questions to Reflect On
- How does music enable expression beyond language?
- What does it mean for music to have no authorship?