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    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. performers quotes

      1. Andrea Bocelli

      "All that counts in life is intention." Andrea Bocelli

    2. performers quotes

      2. Nigel Kennedy

      "I play every gig as if it could be my last, then I enjoy it more than ever." Nigel Kennedy

    3. performers quotes

      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. performers quotes

      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. performers quotes

      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. performers quotes

      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. performers quotes

      7. Glenn Gould

      "We do not play the piano with our fingers but with our mind." Glenn Gould

    8. performers quotes

      8. Maria Callas

      "I don't need the money, dear. I work for art." Maria Callas

    9. performers quotes

      9. Martha Argerich

      "Audiences are not important for me now and they never were." Martha Argerich

    10. performers quotes

      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. performers quotes

      11. Herbert von Karajan

      "Those who have achieved all their aims probably set them too low." Herbert von Karajan

    12. performers quotes

      12. Mitsuko Uchida

      "When I play a note of Schubert I don’t want anybody walking around and talking." Mitsuko Uchida

    13. performers quotes

      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. performers quotes

      14. Alfred Brendel

      "The word 'listen' contains the same letters as the word 'silent'." Alfred Brendel

    15. performers quotes

      15. Lang Lang

      "Just love what you are doing, and try to play more." Lang Lang

    16. performers quotes

      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. performers quotes

      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. performers quotes

      18. Jacqueline de Pré

      "Playing lifts you out of yourself into a delirious place." Jacqueline du Pré

    19. performers quotes

      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. performers quotes

      20. Montserrat Caballé

      "I am not now nor have I ever been a diva... I am only Montserrat!" Montserrat Caballé

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