Possibilities.

Harnoncourt's artistic approach might be summed up in his statement: "Music should rip the soul apart."

"Art isn't a pretty accessory - it's the umbilical cord that connects us with the divine. It insures our humanity," he wrote. And: "To be beautiful, music must operate on the outer fringes of catastrophe."

That stance came at a price, and had an effect: "If something in me were to stay the same, I'd be ashamed. In truth, I am not the same person I was yesterday."

A penultimate quote: "Impossibilities are the most beautiful possibilities."

Only a person of unshakable optimism could say that, one might think. Wrong again. Even here, Harnoncourt begged to differ: "I think there are only few intellectually interested people who are optimists - because optimism always requires a certain degree of stupidity."

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