‘I always listened with pleasure and to so-called popular classical music – Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart, of course. Maybe, first of all, Mozart, for me.
‘Of our own – Rachmaninov. And Schubert/Liszt ‘Ständchen’ – wonderful, I really love this melody: Schubert in Liszt’s adaptation.’
On contemporary music: ‘Of course, it’s difficult for me to understand a composer such as Schnittke. Although he is very famous, and we are proud of him. But only a well-prepared listener understands all the variety and the depth of his works. I have not yet grown to this point, but I hope that I will continue to move in this direction.’
The US composer made his dismissive comment in an interview with RAI. Watch here.
In an Austrian interview, he expresses appreciation for the Trump presidency: ‘It is wonderful: for the first time even children are getting politicised. Even my children, who used to be sunk in video games, now go to demonstrations and get involved politically. We should be grateful to Trump for having shaken us up.’
After selling his clarinet for $200, 10-year-old Jaddan Comerford became an investor, putting the money into the stock market – specifically, shares in the National Australia Bank. That decision would turn out to have a major impact on his life and 23 years later, Comerford is the founder and CEO of UNIFIED Music Group, one of Australia’s fastest growing, privately owned independent music bodies.
