--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm not making any absurd comparisons…" description: "\"I'm not making any absurd comparisons between myself and Bach, but I aspire to that, that my music will have the legs to survive whatever context it fi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/834/steve-reich-35155_absurd_i-m-not-making-any-absurd-comparisons-be_1467953.jpg" --- # I'm not making any absurd comparisons between myself and… ![“I'm not making any absurd comparisons between myself and Bach, but I aspire to that, that my music will have the legs to survive whatever context it finds itself in.” quote by Steve Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/834/steve-reich-35155_absurd_i-m-not-making-any-absurd-comparisons-be_1467953.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/834/steve-reich-35155_absurd_i-m-not-making-any-absurd-comparisons-be_1467953.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/834/steve-reich-35155_absurd_i-m-not-making-any-absurd-comparisons-be_1467953.jpg) > “I'm not making any absurd comparisons between myself and Bach, but I aspire to that, that my music will have the legs to survive whatever context it finds itself in.” [Steve Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-reich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He aspires for his music to endure across contexts, like Bach’s lasting influence. **In simple terms:** He wants his music to survive any setting. Key Takeaway Create timeless music. Themes legacy music endurance Mood analytical inspirational Type philosophical motivation When to use this quote - composing - educational curricula - archival projects Key Concepts cultural transmission artistic ambition Questions to Reflect On - What makes art timeless? - How can you test durability? A Different Perspective May ignore present relevance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Aspire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aspire/) [Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bach/) [Bach Aspire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bach-aspire-5319125/) [Comparison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comparison/) [Comparisons Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comparisons-bach-5319126/) [Legs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legs/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Music Legs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-legs-5319124/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [We teach boys to be such men as we are. We do not teach them to aspire to be all they can. We do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-teach-boys-to-be-such-men-as-we-are-we-do-not-teach-them-to-aspire/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“You're the kind of child who might develop a passion for Bach." I told him I hadn't at school. The one Bach piece I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/you-re-the-kind-of-child-who-might-develop-a-passion-for-bach-i-told/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [I would send the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach into outer space on the Voyager spacecraft. But that would be boasting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/i-would-send-the-complete-works-of-johann-sebastian-bach-into-outer/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“To wake up one day and be Steinway and Glen in One... Glen Steinway, Steinway Glen, all for Bach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/to-wake-up-one-day-and-be-steinway-and-glen-in-one-glen-steinway/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [The music of Bach is without doubt the most sacred gift to the world of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heitor-villa-lobos/the-music-of-bach-is-without-doubt-the-most-sacred-gift-to-the-world/) [Heitor Villa-Lobos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heitor-villa-lobos/) > [I used to listen to a lot of Bach on the radio, and when the basses started to sing, it made everything complete -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-haden/i-used-to-listen-to-a-lot-of-bach-on-the-radio-and-when-the-basses/) [Charlie Haden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-haden/) > [In Bach there is still too much crude Christianity, crude Germanism, crude scholasticism; he stands on the threshold of European (modern) music, but he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-bach-there-is-still-too-much-crude-christianity-crude-germanism/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The author's conviction on this day of New Year is that music begins to atrophy when it departs too far from the dance; that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-author-s-conviction-on-this-day-of-new-year-is-that-music-begins/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“The way we define opera circa 1700 may help us to throw light not just on the choices facing Bach and his brilliant peer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eliot-gardiner/the-way-we-define-opera-circa-1700-may-help-us-to-throw-light-not/) [John Eliot Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eliot-gardiner/) > [Bernard Herrmann used to write all his scores by himself. So did Bach, Beethoven and Stravinsky. I dont understand why this happens in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ennio-morricone/bernard-herrmann-used-to-write-all-his-scores-by-himself-so-did-bach/) [Ennio Morricone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ennio-morricone/) > [Whenever you study composition you inevitably encounter Bach right off the bat. You can't get across the room without running into him and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-roberts/whenever-you-study-composition-you-inevitably-encounter-bach-right/) [Howard Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-roberts/) > [I began to realize that some of the things Ornette Coleman had said about things being played three or fours ways, independently of each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-began-to-realize-that-some-of-the-things-ornette-coleman-had-said/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [Yes, I mean like you know, having studied with Yehudi Menuhin that is like some direct route into Bach, because he was one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-kennedy/yes-i-mean-like-you-know-having-studied-with-yehudi-menuhin-that-is/) [Nigel Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-kennedy/) > [I listen to Bach a great deal. In general I like to listen to hymns and liturgical music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/i-listen-to-bach-a-great-deal-in-general-i-like-to-listen-to-hymns/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“Do you know what he told me after lying under a cliff for thirty six hours with two inches of his femur sticking out?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/do-you-know-what-he-told-me-after-lying-under-a-cliff-for-thirty-six/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) ## More by Steve Reich > [Up to the age of 14 I had not heard a note of anything before 1750, never heard a note of Bach, never heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-reich/up-to-the-age-of-14-i-had-not-heard-a-note-of-anything-before-1750/) [Steve Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-reich/) > [In the pop world, instead of saying I want to get an album by such and such a group, it's I like this particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-reich/in-the-pop-world-instead-of-saying-i-want-to-get-an-album-by-such-and/) [Steve Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-reich/) > [What I don't want to do is to go and buy a bunch of exotic-looking drums and set up an Afrikanische Musik in New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-reich/what-i-don-t-want-to-do-is-to-go-and-buy-a-bunch-of-exotic-looking/) [Steve Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-reich/) > [It's very important for any artist, in any field, to take their own temperature and check out their own energy, and see what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-reich/it-s-very-important-for-any-artist-in-any-field-to-take-their-own/) [Steve Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-reich/) > [As a matter of fact, I personally would much rather hear Perotin than Mozart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-reich/as-a-matter-of-fact-i-personally-would-much-rather-hear-perotin-than/) [Steve Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-reich/) > [I write music, and I want people to listen to it and care about it and have it make some difference in their lives.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-reich/i-write-music-and-i-want-people-to-listen-to-it-and-care-about-it-and/) [Steve Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-reich/) > [I don't care how much people understand what it is that I'm doing, except if they're players in my ensemble or other ensembles. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-reich/i-don-t-care-how-much-people-understand-what-it-is-that-i-m-doing/) [Steve Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-reich/) > [I've learned over the years that geography is not that important, except that I seem to work better in the country than the city.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-reich/i-ve-learned-over-the-years-that-geography-is-not-that-important/) [Steve Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-reich/) > [All great music is contemporary. If it's still alive and kicking, then it's contemporary. If it fades away, it was a period piece. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-reich/all-great-music-is-contemporary-if-it-s-still-alive-and-kicking-then/) [Steve Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-reich/) > [All music does come from a time and place. I was born and raised in New York. I moved out of New York, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-reich/all-music-does-come-from-a-time-and-place-i-was-born-and-raised-in/) [Steve Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-reich/) > [In serial music, the series itself is seldom audible... What I'm interested in is a compositional process and a sounding music that are one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-reich/in-serial-music-the-series-itself-is-seldom-audible-what-i-m/) [Steve Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-reich/) > [I discovered that the most interesting music of all was made by simply lining the loops in unison, and letting them slowly shift out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-reich/i-discovered-that-the-most-interesting-music-of-all-was-made-by/) [Steve Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-reich/) [Explore all 13 Steve Reich quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-reich/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm not making any absurd comparisons between myself and Bach, but I aspire to that, that my music will have the legs to survive whatever context it finds itself in.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steve Reich" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-reich/i-m-not-making-any-absurd-comparisons-between-myself-and-bach-but-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absurd" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-reich/i-m-not-making-any-absurd-comparisons-between-myself-and-bach-but-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/834/steve-reich-35155_absurd_i-m-not-making-any-absurd-comparisons-be_1467953.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/834/steve-reich-35155_absurd_i-m-not-making-any-absurd-comparisons-be_1467953.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/834/steve-reich-35155_absurd_i-m-not-making-any-absurd-comparisons-be_1467953.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm not making any absurd comparisons between myself and Bach, but I aspire to that, that my music will have…” — Steve Reich", "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": "Steve Reich", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-reich/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm not making any absurd comparisons...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-reich/i-m-not-making-any-absurd-comparisons-between-myself-and-bach-but-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-reich/i-m-not-making-any-absurd-comparisons-between-myself-and-bach-but-i/#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 } } ] } ```