Tolstoy and "the shorthand of emotion"

[Brewer, Michael]

It looks to me like Tolstoy wrote something like this to his wife on 17
January 1905 or in his journal on the 20th of that month.  (музыка - это
стенография чувств or музыка есть стенография чувств).  I did not go back to
his collected works to check if the whole quote comes from this particular
letter, but at least part of it is there (he may have come up with this
earlier and was just repeating it at this point). 

 

mb

 

Michael Brewer

German and Slavic Studies Librarian

Fine Arts/Humanities Team

Main Library A210

University of Arizona

621.9919

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Geoffrey Chew [mailto:uhwm006 at SUN.RHUL.AC.UK] 
Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 10:25 PM
To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Tolstoy and "the shorthand of emotion"

 

On Tue, 24 Sep 2002, Alfred Cramer wrote:

 

> As a music theorist researching connections between music and

> stenography (shorthand) in the nineteenth century, I am interested in

> the source of the following statement, said to be by Tolstoy.

>

> "Music is the shorthand of emotion.  Emotions which let themselves

> be described in words with such difficulty, are directly conveyed to man

> in music, and in that is its power and significance."

>

> The quotation is attributed to Tolstoy in a number of quotation

> dictionaries, but chapter and verse are never given. I've read around

> and electronically searched the standard Tolstoy works found online

> without success. Does anyone have any ideas?

>

> I'd appreciate any responses. It might be best to respond to me

> privately rather than to the whole list.

 

I'd appreciate responses posted to the list...

 

 Geoffrey Chew

 Music Department, Royal Holloway, University of London

 Internet: chew at sun.rhul.ac.uk

 Fax:      0870-131 6521 (UK)

 Fax:      (240)209-1260 (USA)

 

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