Originality vs. Innovation

Here’s another thought for the day. What is more impor­tant, orig­i­nal­ity or innovation?

Well, let’s look at Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, which pre­miered in 1913. Almost 100 years later, we can still call it orig­i­nal. But were it to be pre­miered today, we would no longer call it innovative.

Bach is an orig­i­nal com­poser, but he was not nec­es­sar­ily innovative.

Inno­va­tion is some­thing that wears off over time. Orig­i­nal­ity has less to do with age and is more con­cerned with what is true.