On Air Now
The Classic FM Hall of Fame Hour 9am - 10am
20 amazing quotes from classical musicians
Quotes from the greatest classical musicians in history - iconic pictures, amazing insights and some inspiring words from the likes of Luciano Pavarotti, Maria Callas, Glenn Gould, Simon Rattle and more.
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1. Andrea Bocelli
"All that counts in life is intention." Andrea Bocelli
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2. Nigel Kennedy
"I play every gig as if it could be my last, then I enjoy it more than ever." Nigel Kennedy
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3. André Previn
"If I miss a day of practice, I know it. If I miss two days, my manager knows it. If I miss three days, my audience knows it." André Previn
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4. Gustavo Dudamel
"The challenge is not so much to change the sound. The challenge is to connect and to create something special." Gustavo Dudamel
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5. Nicola Benedetti
"A lot of my friends didn’t know what to do with their lives. But I always had this very strong idea of what I wanted." Nicola Benedetti
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6. Sir Colin Davis
"All the conductor has to do is stand back and try not to get in the way. Mozart is doing all the work." Sir Colin Davis
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7. Glenn Gould
"We do not play the piano with our fingers but with our mind." Glenn Gould
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8. Maria Callas
"I don't need the money, dear. I work for art." Maria Callas
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9. Martha Argerich
"Audiences are not important for me now and they never were." Martha Argerich
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10. Luciano Pavarotti
"I think a life in music is a life beautifully spent, and this is what I have devoted my life to." Luciano Pavarotti
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11. Herbert von Karajan
"Those who have achieved all their aims probably set them too low." Herbert von Karajan
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12. Mitsuko Uchida
"When I play a note of Schubert I don’t want anybody walking around and talking." Mitsuko Uchida
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13. Valery Gergiev
"If your voice is very soft and you don't make it clear that this is the way things should go, they probably won't go." Valery Gergiev
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14. Alfred Brendel
"The word 'listen' contains the same letters as the word 'silent'." Alfred Brendel
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15. Lang Lang
"Just love what you are doing, and try to play more." Lang Lang
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16. Joan Sutherland
"If I weren't reasonably placid, I don't think I could cope with this sort of life. To be a diva, you've got to be absolutely like a horse." Joan Sutherland
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17. Daniel Barenboim
"Every great work of art has two faces, one toward its own time and one toward the future, toward eternity." Daniel Barenboim
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18. Jacqueline de Pré
"Playing lifts you out of yourself into a delirious place." Jacqueline du Pré
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19. Sir Simon Rattle
"If anyone has conducted a Beethoven performance, and then doesn't have to go to an osteopath, then there's something wrong." Sir Simon Rattle
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20. Montserrat Caballé
"I am not now nor have I ever been a diva... I am only Montserrat!" Montserrat Caballé
