One of my favourite authors, Anthony Trollope, b otd 1815. I love the fact that his characters are so real, so recognisable - one could meet them, unchanged, today.
“What on earth could be more luxurious than a sofa, a book, and a cup of coffee?...Was ever anything so civil?”

Happy Birthday Barbra Streisand!
'Doubt can motivate you, so don't be afraid of it. Confidence and doubt are at two ends of the scale, and you need both. They balance each other out.'
'I love things that are indescribable, like the taste of an avocado or the smell of a gardenia.'

Sergei Prokofiev b otd 1891! Enigmatic man, endlessly fascinating composer - music of such invention.
“My chief virtue (or if you like, defect) has been a tireless lifelong search for an original, individual musical idiom. I detest imitation, I detest hackneyed devices.”

A day for beloved musicians!
Kathleen Ferrier (b otd 1912): 'She had the charm of a child and the dignity of a lady...a country lass and also a priestess.' (Bruno Walter)
Yehudi Menuhin (1916): 'I think the extraordinary thing is that he was a normal genius.' (Bruno Monsaingeon)

Charlotte Bronte b otd 1816!
I am no bird; no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will.
Prejudices are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilized by education; they grow there, firm as weeds among stones.

Much-missed Victoria Wood d otd 2016:
The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off.
I'm not too good with advice. Could I interest you in a sarcastic comment?
AND: Music is an element that should be part and parcel of every child's life via the education system.

We're sad to be leaving Mexico after only two/three days here - during which we've met some of the warmest-hearted people we've ever met and (perhaps not unrelated?) eaten some of the spiciest food we've ever tasted! Thanks to everyone who made our short stay so special.

Happy birthday to Murray Perahia! Wise advice:
'You have to understand where the music comes from. You have to understand the counterpoint, the harmony, the things the composer studied.'
'Keep your love of music alive because the love is the fuel that drives everything forward.'

Wisdom/inspiration from Albert Einstein (d otd 1955):
“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”

Two years now since beloved Radu Lupu left us. I think of him every day - he remains a musical hero, a paragon of sincerity, profundity and warmth. As a person too - although melancholy at times, he loved to be with his friends, to laugh, and to help others: a truly kind man.

Day of laughter! Three comic geniuses b otd:
Charlie Chaplin (1889): 'A day without laughter is a day wasted.'
Spike Milligan (1918): 'After five days in hospital, I took a turn for the nurse.' (Ahem.)
Peter Ustinov (1921): 'Laughter... the most civilised music in the world.'

Neville Marriner b otd 1924 - I wish he'd made 100! But what a way to go: in his sleep, the night before a rehearsal. He was the best company; so funny! A typical remark: 'The awful thing about a conductor becoming geriatric is that you seem to become more desirable, not less.'

Thoughts from George Frideric Handel (d otd 1759) -
On studying music: 'Learn all there is to learn, and then choose your own path.'
On audiences: 'I should be sorry if I only entertained them. I wish to make them better.'
On composing Messiah: 'I thought I saw the face of God'.

And Samuel Beckett b otd 1906!
'We are all born mad. Some remain so.'
'Personally I have no bone to pick with graveyards.'
'To find a form that accommodates the mess, that is the task of the artist now.'
'There's man all over for you, blaming on his boots the fault of his feet.'

Thomas Jefferson, b otd 1743:
'In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.'
'Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear.'

Wisdom from F D Roosevelt (d otd 1945):
“Remember that all of us - you and I especially - are descended from immigrants.”
“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”

Confucius, thought to have d otd 479!
“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”'
“He who knows all the answers has not been asked all the questions.”
“Study the past if you would define the future.”
'Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”

Challenging thoughts from Khalil Gibran (d otd 1931):
'And God said, Love your enemy, & I obeyed Him & loved myself.'
'Our anxiety does not come from thinking about the future, but from wanting to control it.'
'Keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life.'

A very happy 96th to Tom Lehrer! Witty AND wise...
“I know that there are people who do not love their fellow man; I hate people like that!”
'I went from adolescence to senility, trying to bypass maturity.'
'Be careful not to do your good deeds when there's no one watching you.'

Picasso (d otd 1973) on art:
Art is the lie that enables us to realise the truth.
Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not.
Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.
It takes a very long time to become young.