HARNONCOURT 21

Many happy returns to Nikolaus Harnoncourt on his 70th birthday (12/1999)

„I feel there is a point when a human being stops using language to obtain something specific, like conquering a woman or buying a vegetable. When he begins to utter a totally useless poem, transforming language into art in order to express what cannot be said, this is when the mammal becomes man, this is when the kiss of the muse is essential. I refuse to believe in Michelangelo as an ape.“