Friday, February 24, 2012

Quote of the Day (Robertson Davies, on Reading as Interpretative Art)


“The great works of imagination--the masterworks of poetry, drama, and fiction-- are simply indications for performance that you hold in your hand, and like and musical scores they call for skilled performance by you, the artist and the reader. Literature is an art, and reading is also an art, and unless you recognize and develop your qualities as an interpretive artist you are not getting the best from your reading. You do not play a Bach concerto for the solo cello on a musical saw, and you should not read a play of Shakespeare in the voice of an auctioneer selling tobacco.”-- Robertson Davies, Reading and Writing (1992)

1 comment:

Michelle said...

Actually, he was wrong - one does play music by Bach on the musical saw, even with great acclaim from prominent newspaper critics, Pulitzer prize winning composers and prominent conductors. If you are a good artist - you are a good artist.
Bach on musical saw: http://youtu.be/O0AmVevhuK4