When first I saw thee ‘neath the silver mist,
Ruling thy bark of painted sandal-wood,
Did any know thee? By the golden sails
That clasped the ribbands of that azure sea,
Did any know thee save my heart alone?
O ivory woman with thy bands of gold,
Answer the song my luth and I have brought thee!
“Those who paint a landscape for the sake of painting a landscape, those who write a symphony just for the sake of writing a symphony are in the best of cases good craftsmen. I cannot conceive of works of art other than as manifestations of their makers’ limitless enthusiasm, despair, sorrow, anger, revenge, scorn, and sarcasm.”
Béla Bartók