"Now, what we are not talking about, what you're really coming to, is what compromises one makes so that the listener understands somewhat of what you're doing, what you're trying to express"
About this Quote
Ornstein is smuggling a hard truth into a deceptively plain sentence: the real drama of avant-garde art isn’t invention, it’s translation. He waves away the obvious topic - technique, style, even “expression” as composers like to sanctify it - and points to the awkward negotiation underneath: the compromises required so the listener can follow you into unfamiliar territory without bolting for the exit.
Coming from a composer who spent his early career scandalizing audiences with violent modernism, the line reads like veteran wisdom, not capitulation. Ornstein isn’t asking permission from the crowd; he’s acknowledging the social contract of performance. Music is private feeling turned public event. If the listener can’t parse any of it, the work becomes a soliloquy delivered in a locked room. The subtext is that intelligibility isn’t a betrayal of originality; it’s the medium through which originality lands.
His phrasing matters. “Somewhat” lowers the bar: total understanding is a fantasy, even with “easy” music. “Compromises” is bluntly unsentimental, rejecting the romantic myth that true art arrives unfiltered. The quote also hints at a power dynamic: you can make the listener do work, but you can’t make them stay. So you build handholds - repetition, recognizable gesture, pacing, a hint of tonal gravity - not to domesticate the idea, but to keep the channel open long enough for the strange parts to register.
In a century obsessed with “breaking” tradition, Ornstein is talking about the equally modern skill of being heard.
Coming from a composer who spent his early career scandalizing audiences with violent modernism, the line reads like veteran wisdom, not capitulation. Ornstein isn’t asking permission from the crowd; he’s acknowledging the social contract of performance. Music is private feeling turned public event. If the listener can’t parse any of it, the work becomes a soliloquy delivered in a locked room. The subtext is that intelligibility isn’t a betrayal of originality; it’s the medium through which originality lands.
His phrasing matters. “Somewhat” lowers the bar: total understanding is a fantasy, even with “easy” music. “Compromises” is bluntly unsentimental, rejecting the romantic myth that true art arrives unfiltered. The quote also hints at a power dynamic: you can make the listener do work, but you can’t make them stay. So you build handholds - repetition, recognizable gesture, pacing, a hint of tonal gravity - not to domesticate the idea, but to keep the channel open long enough for the strange parts to register.
In a century obsessed with “breaking” tradition, Ornstein is talking about the equally modern skill of being heard.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
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