What defines genius?

[ajlongspiano]

Wanted to open up a can of worms. Enjoy.

Best,

AJ

[briansaddleback]

You. You are the epitome of genius. Kudos.

[ajlongspiano]

Haha. Sometimes my hard work can give off that impression to people. I enjoy your posts on here. You should share some recordings in the audition room sometime!

Best,

AJ

[themeandvariation]

Hi AJ
Thought we could start with a definition, though it would probably take a genius to tell us definitively.
gen·ius
ˈjēnyəs/Submit
noun
1.
exceptional intellectual or creative power or other natural ability.
"she was a teacher of genius"
synonyms:   brilliance, intelligence, intellect, ability, cleverness, brains, erudition, wisdom, fine mind; More
antonyms:   stupidity
2.
a person who is exceptionally intelligent or creative, either generally or in some particular respect.
"one of the great musical geniuses of the 20th century"
synonyms:   brilliant person, gifted person, mastermind, Einstein, intellectual, great intellect, brain, mind; More
antonyms:   dunce
3.
a person regarded as exerting a powerful influence over another for good or evil.
"he sees Adams as the man's evil genius"
(in some mythologies) a guardian spirit associated with a person, place, or institution.
plural noun: genii
4.
the prevalent character or spirit of something such as a nation or age.
"Boucher's paintings did not suit the austere genius of neoclassicism"
adjectiveinformal
1.
very clever or ingenious.
"a genius marketing ploy"
Origin

late Middle English: from Latin, ‘attendant spirit present from one's birth, innate ability or inclination,’ from the root of gignere ‘beget.’ The original sense ‘tutelary spirit attendant on a person’ gave rise to a sense ‘a person's characteristic disposition’ (late 16th century), which led to a sense ‘a person's natural ability,’ and finally ‘exceptional natural ability’ (mid 17th century).
Translate genius to
Use over time for: genius

I would add to this that is is something quite rare.
I would also mention that it would help to meditate (very deeply, and prolongingly) on the work Of geniuses ….. like Bach  (my favorite) or Leonardo,  late quartets of beethoven (etc) , …. and just Behold what genius can do!

[ajlongspiano]

Hey, Theme! Wonderful response. I made this post because the essence of genius is such a difficult thing to describe, and often very subjective. I hope your composing endeavors have been well. Bach was the greatest genius!

Best,

AJ

[themeandvariation]

Oh Hi.  Yes,  thank you.  Composing is going well
I know you are trekking  up that 'Goldberg' mountain… Very excellent! 
I hope you are doing well.
Cheers!

[ajlongspiano]

It's a mountain, that's for sure  .

Best,

AJ

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Easy question!!!

A genius is someone who has maximum results with minimum effort

[ajlongspiano]

Are you inclined to think that Beethoven wasn't a genius? He worked incredibly hard on his compositions, sometimes to the point of insanity.

Best,

AJ

[mjames]

Bach was the greatest genius!

Best,

AJ

nah newton was

For me there are two types of "genius" in regards to classical composers:

The "natural genius"
and
"craftsmanship genius"

Some composers are one or the other, and some have a combination of both.

examples:
Craftsman geniuses: Brahms, Medtner, Beethoven
Natural geniuses: Schubert, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Scriabin
Both: really hard to find, but JS Bach and Mozart would be one of them.

Really hard to put the actual differences in to words so if anyone's curious just ask xD

[ajlongspiano]

Debatable  . Unarguably, both men came from heaven.

Best,
AJ

[chopinlover01]

IMO Mendelssohn fits into the former category better than the latter. I don't think much of his work is particularly inspiring, though I do appreciate the craftsmanship of it, as I do with Brahms.

[ajlongspiano]

James - I enjoy your insight here. I agree that there can be many kinds of " genius. " Medtner ftw.

Harrison - I kind of think he fits into both haha. Mendelssohn was a wonderful composer from a very early age and as he got older, the compositions he produced became more rigid and uninspiring. That's just my opinion, though!

Best,

AJ

[adodd81802]

I think Genius's are innovators or revolutionaries in their field.

People that have taken a look at the way something is being done or has been done and decides to change it. We can think of people in many fields, Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Steven Hawking, and in music, Franz Liszt, as a few examples.

I can't decisively agree whether it's down to being a real hard worker or being naturally born, destined for their path. I do have no doubt regardless, they all worked their butts off and I think a level of obsessiveness to completely understand something unlocks new ways of thinking in the brain.

Once all the information has been truly absorbed in your chosen field, I imagine the possibilities are endless.

And this, something I have mentioned many times is definitely why I think mastering the piano is probably 70% mental and 30% physical as a rough estimate.

[visitor]

i tend to use the same definition i use for virtuosity, since usually in the context of performance (physical ie athletes, musicians , mental ie scholars, writers, math folks like engineers, scientistis, etc, etc) they are almost always linked.

effortless  flawless execution and command of fundamentals + uncommon creativity.

they (geniuses, virtuosos, etc) are 'expert beginners' in that they do the basics perfectly, consistently, but they are also unusually inspired and imaginative.

[mjames]

adult mendelssohn? uninspired???

NIIGGGGAAA PLEAAAAAAASE:

when my jewish brother from another mother from another century-other certainly knew how to to be 'romantic' when he wanted to be.

[ronde_des_sylphes]

"What defines genius?"

The indefinable.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Are you inclined to think that Beethoven wasn't a genius? He worked incredibly hard on his compositions, sometimes to the point of insanity.

Best,

AJ

That just makes him a genius who worked hard.

[opus43]

adult mendelssohn? uninspired???

NIIGGGGAAA PLEAAAAAAASE:

when my jewish brother from another mother from another century-other certainly knew how to to be 'romantic' when he wanted to be.

Also, his two piano trios are amazing.

[opus43]

James Clerk Maxwell is an amazing genius because he added math to science.

Unfortunately, that made science a whole lot harder, didn't it?