Saturday, December 5, 2009

Mozart urges love

Mozart. Digital ID: 1407559. New York Public Library

The following quote is attributed to Mozart:

Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.

What do you think, about love being the soul of genius?

What's this love that Mozart refers to - a love of what one does, a passion for it, a commitment to it that defies other considerations?

A love of life as well, and one's place in this world? A love of self and others, or perhaps a love of self at the expense of others (considering that geniuses are not always known for their kind and unselfish natures).

What do you do in life, that you love? And why do you love it?

(The words "love, love, love" also brought to mind the lyrics of "All You Need Is Love" and the thought that maybe The Beatles were inspired by this quote... or maybe not... I've had that song stuck in my head lately, courtesy of a Beatles-loving friend who sang it twice through while drunk.)

It's not that love is all you need... only that without it, your talents and gifts won't attain their fullest breadth, that there'll be something hollow and lacking in your endeavors. And you could also feel all the love there is to feel and not be a genius - but then, at least you'll have that love, that sense of joy and richness and possibility, and you'll take pleasure in whatever you can do with your life and your abilities; that's a kind of genius in and of itself.

UPDATE:

A video of Gabrielle Chou, from the Youtube Channel "KidMusician"; she's playing the first movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 8:



and here, a piece she composed as an homage to Chopin, played with feeling and skill:



As Mozart well knew, this kind of love can appear at a young age too.