Emotions can be self validating

When we validate our emotions, we become more aware and accepting of them, and we begin to understand where they come from.It’s only in this place of awareness that we can see what power they may hold over us.Without being professionals or virtuosos, we were all passionate lovers of music; but Serge dreamed of devoting himself entirely to the art.All the time he was studying law along with us, he took singing lessons with Cotogni, the famous baritone of the Italian Opera; while for musical theory, which he wanted to master completely so as to rival Moussorgsky and Tchaikovsky, he went to the very source and studied with Rimsky-Korsakov.

If you do not believe the body to be yours, but you believe that the mind is yours, then manodhyas (the belief that 'I am the mind') still remains.” ― “One could certainly call Diaghilev a creative genius, although it is not easy to analyse the nature of his creative gift.

We liked the composer’s famous Romances much less, finding them insipid and sometimes trivial.

These Romances, however, were just what Diaghilev liked.

What he valued most was broad melody, and in particular whatever gave a singer the chance to display the sensuous qualities of his voice.

During the years of his apprenticeship he bore our criticisms and jokes with resignation, but as he learned more about music – and about the history of art in general – he gained in self-confidence and found reasons to justify his predilections.