User:Annyutka

By Mussorgsky

From a letter to Vladimir Stasov

"Life, wherever it reveals itself; truth, no matter how bitter; bold, sincere speech with people–these are my leaven, these are what I want, this is where I am afraid of missing the mark."

From an autobiographical sketch:

"Art is a means of communicating with people, and not an aim in itself. This guiding principle has defined the whole of his [i.e., my] creative activity. Proceeding from the conviction that human speech is strictly controlled by musical laws (Virchow, Gervinus), he considers the function of art to be the reproduction in musical sounds not merely of feelings, but first and foremost of human speech."