Earle Brown Quotes

United States, Composer
December 26, 1926 – July, 2, 2002.

Earle Brown (December 26, 1926 – July 2, 2002) was an American composer who established his own formal and notational systems. Brown was the creator of open form, a style of musical construction that has influenced many composers since—notably the downtown New York scene of the 1980s (see John Zorn) and generations of younger composers.

It is not possible, given any degree of optimism and generosity in regard to people in general, to set a time limit on creative reflection or a limitation on the number of people involved in the creation.

Earle Brown
- People
- Time
- Reflection
Cage's Music of Changes was a further indication that the arts in general were beginning to consciously deal with the 'given' material and, to varying degrees, liberating them from the inherited, functional concepts of control.

Earle Brown
- Music
- Control
- Beginning

There is no music that can't be used politically, but the motives behind the creation of that music can be non-political.

Earle Brown
- Music
- Political
- Creation
What is a good performance? It lies in the hands and head of a performer... the shortest way between two people is not a straight line.

Earle Brown
- People
- Good
- Lies
I'm convinced that in a healthy society, artistic norms should be constantly under question which is not of course, to deny the need for continuity.

Earle Brown