Statement By Ralph Shapey About His Work
“ 'radical traditionalist' is what I’ve been called. My music combines two fundamentally contradictory impulses–-radical language and romantic sensibility. The melodies are disjunct and dissonant; they contain 'atonal' harmonies and extremes in register, dynamics, and textural contrast. Yet the musical structures are grandly formed and run the gamut of dramatic gestures. Like the Romantics, I conceive of art in a deeply spiritual way. A great work of art transcends the immediate moment into a world of infinity.
My credo is: 1) The music must speak for itself. 2) Great art is a miracle. 3) What the mind can conceive will be done."
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