--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Music is the sole art which evokes…" description: "\"Music is the sole art which evokes nostalgia for the future.\" — Ned Rorem" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db5/ned-rorem-14618_art_music-is-the-sole-art-which-evokes-nosta_2748719.png" --- # Music is the sole art which evokes nostalgia for the future. ![“Music is the sole art which evokes nostalgia for the future.” quote by Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db5/ned-rorem-14618_art_music-is-the-sole-art-which-evokes-nosta_2748719.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db5/ned-rorem-14618_art_music-is-the-sole-art-which-evokes-nosta_2748719.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db5/ned-rorem-14618_art_music-is-the-sole-art-which-evokes-nosta_2748719.png) > “Music is the sole art which evokes nostalgia for the future.” [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Music uniquely evokes a longing for future experiences, blending nostalgia with anticipation. **In simple terms:** Music triggers future nostalgia. Key Takeaway Listen for forward‑looking nostalgia. Themes art nostalgia future orientation Mood reflective artistic Type musical philosophical When to use this quote - songwriting - film scoring - personal reflection - therapy - educational curricula Key Concepts emotional resonance creative imagination Questions to Reflect On - How does music inspire future hopes? - What genres best evoke forward nostalgia? A Different Perspective Not all music evokes nostalgia; personal taste varies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Art evokes emotion. It doesn't have to be a thing of beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-broad/art-evokes-emotion-it-doesn-t-have-to-be-a-thing-of-beauty/) [Eli Broad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-broad/) > [Art evokes the mystery without which the world would not exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-magritte/art-evokes-the-mystery-without-which-the-world-would-not-exist/) [Rene Magritte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-magritte/) > [Even though fixed in time, a photograph evokes as much feeling as that which comes from music or dance. Whatever the mode - from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-gibson/even-though-fixed-in-time-a-photograph-evokes-as-much-feeling-as-that/) [Ralph Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-gibson/) > [Music evokes emotion and emotion can bring it's memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sacks/music-evokes-emotion-and-emotion-can-bring-it-s-memory/) [Oliver Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sacks/) > [For me, clothing is nothing without the story behind it. Everything I own evokes some kind of memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-taylor/for-me-clothing-is-nothing-without-the-story-behind-it-everything-i/) [Rachael Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-taylor/) > [The beautiful thing about pain is that it evokes honesty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-stockman/the-beautiful-thing-about-pain-is-that-it-evokes-honesty/) [Shawn Stockman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-stockman/) > [There is something about guitars—maybe something magical—when played right, which evokes past, mysterious, barely-conscious sentiments, both individual and universal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fahey/there-is-something-about-guitars-maybe-something-magical-when-played/) [John Fahey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fahey/) > [Our life evokes our character and you find out more about yourself as you go on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/our-life-evokes-our-character-and-you-find-out-more-about-yourself-as/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Poetry evokes out of words the resonance of the primordial world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhart-hauptmann/poetry-evokes-out-of-words-the-resonance-of-the-primordial-world/) Gerhart Hauptmann > [With impeccable timing and a fine instinct for the telling detail, Francesca Abbate evokes the plenitudes and the deprivations of human habitation, the nurturing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-gregerson/with-impeccable-timing-and-a-fine-instinct-for-the-telling-detail/) Linda Gregerson > [I think of spirit as that which evokes us - the lure of becoming that keeps calling. And I think of soul as that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/i-think-of-spirit-as-that-which-evokes-us-the-lure-of-becoming-that/) [Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/) > [World music evokes a feeling. You don't have to think about the scene that it comes from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/world-music-evokes-a-feeling-you-don-t-have-to-think-about-the-scene/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [We were such fans of Sleepy Hollow, in all of its iterations - growing up with the Disney show, and then Tim Burton's and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-kurtzman/we-were-such-fans-of-sleepy-hollow-in-all-of-its-iterations-growing/) [Alex Kurtzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-kurtzman/) > [I am a 21st century person who was accidentally launched in the 20th. I have a deep nostalgia for the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fm-2030/i-am-a-21st-century-person-who-was-accidentally-launched-in-the-20th/) FM-2030 > [“While many feel deceived by a scattered ‘now’ of a broken present, others have started diving into the nostalgia of the future, sowing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/while-many-feel-deceived-by-a-scattered-now-of-a-broken-present/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) ## More by Ned Rorem > [Greatness is not the effect of which inspiration is the cause. We are all inspired, but we are all not great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/greatness-is-not-the-effect-of-which-inspiration-is-the-cause-we-are/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [Intelligence is silence, truth is being invisible. But what a racket I make in declaring this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/intelligence-is-silence-truth-is-being-invisible-but-what-a-racket-i/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [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/) > [Perfection is no more a requisite to art than to heroes. Frigidaires are perfect. Beauty limps. My frigidaire has had to be replaced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/perfection-is-no-more-a-requisite-to-art-than-to-heroes-frigidaires/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [Anyone can be gay - it's no accomplishment - but only I can be me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/anyone-can-be-gay-it-s-no-accomplishment-but-only-i-can-be-me/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [Inspiration could be called inhaling the memory of an act never experienced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/inspiration-could-be-called-inhaling-the-memory-of-an-act-never/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [The Great don't innovate, they fertilize seeds planted by lackeys, they leave to others the inhaling of the flowers whose roots they've manured. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/the-great-don-t-innovate-they-fertilize-seeds-planted-by-lackeys-they/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [If music could be translated into human speech, it would no longer need to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/if-music-could-be-translated-into-human-speech-it-would-no-longer/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [As a lifelong pacifist, Quaker, and a gay man, I despair that gays and lesbians are expending energy trying to get into the military…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/as-a-lifelong-pacifist-quaker-and-a-gay-man-i-despair-that-gays-and/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [“We endow our poor lovers with godly traits, and then destroy them for being mortal. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/we-endow-our-poor-lovers-with-godly-traits-and-then-destroy-them-for/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [All men are forced into one of two categories: those with eleven fingers and those without.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/all-men-are-forced-into-one-of-two-categories-those-with-eleven/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [Art's the biggest vanity: the assumption that one's view of peace or fright or beauty is permanently communicable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/art-s-the-biggest-vanity-the-assumption-that-one-s-view-of-peace-or/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [In music the present is extended.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/in-music-the-present-is-extended/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [“Sooner or later you’ve heard all your best friends have to say. Then comes the tolerance of real love. The same holds true for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/sooner-or-later-you-ve-heard-all-your-best-friends-have-to-say-then/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [To start writing about your life is, from one standpoint, to stop living it. You must avoid adventures today so as to make time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/to-start-writing-about-your-life-is-from-one-standpoint-to-stop/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) [Explore all 46 Ned Rorem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Music is the sole art which evokes nostalgia for the future.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ned Rorem" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/music-is-the-sole-art-which-evokes-nostalgia-for-the-future/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/music-is-the-sole-art-which-evokes-nostalgia-for-the-future/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db5/ned-rorem-14618_art_music-is-the-sole-art-which-evokes-nosta_2748719.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db5/ned-rorem-14618_art_music-is-the-sole-art-which-evokes-nosta_2748719.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db5/ned-rorem-14618_art_music-is-the-sole-art-which-evokes-nosta_2748719.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Music is the sole art which evokes nostalgia for the future.” — Ned Rorem", "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": "Ned Rorem", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Music is the sole art which...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/music-is-the-sole-art-which-evokes-nostalgia-for-the-future/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/music-is-the-sole-art-which-evokes-nostalgia-for-the-future/#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 } } ] } ```