On Air Now
The Classic FM Concert with John Suchet 8pm - 10pm
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.
-
1. Andrea Bocelli
"All that counts in life is intention." Andrea Bocelli
-
2. Nigel Kennedy
"I play every gig as if it could be my last, then I enjoy it more than ever." Nigel Kennedy
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
-
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
-
7. Glenn Gould
"We do not play the piano with our fingers but with our mind." Glenn Gould
-
8. Maria Callas
"I don't need the money, dear. I work for art." Maria Callas
-
9. Martha Argerich
"Audiences are not important for me now and they never were." Martha Argerich
-
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
-
-
11. Herbert von Karajan
"Those who have achieved all their aims probably set them too low." Herbert von Karajan
-
12. Mitsuko Uchida
"When I play a note of Schubert I don’t want anybody walking around and talking." Mitsuko Uchida
-
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
-
14. Alfred Brendel
"The word 'listen' contains the same letters as the word 'silent'." Alfred Brendel
-
15. Lang Lang
"Just love what you are doing, and try to play more." Lang Lang
-
-
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
-
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
-
18. Jacqueline de Pré
"Playing lifts you out of yourself into a delirious place." Jacqueline du Pré
-
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
-
20. Montserrat Caballé
"I am not now nor have I ever been a diva... I am only Montserrat!" Montserrat Caballé
