From and to the author
a) Second music – a 17th-century English genre, part of an opera's introduction with spoken dialogue. It's usually a short dance piece, and compared to the preceding overture, it's a passing and auxiliary piece.
b) I can hardly consider myself a poet. I composed these texts not as poetry, but as sound forms. For me, they're like second music; they follow my interests in composition; they're second music.
c) The great violinist Jascha Heifetz was asked what place the maestro considers himself in the world violin hierarchy. "Second music," he replied. "But who's first then, Mr. Heifetz?" "Well, there are many firsts..."