Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
Let us not forget that the greatest composers were also the greatest thieves. They stole from everyone and everywhere.
The art of not playing in tempo--one has to learn it. And the art of not playing what is written on the printed paper.
I want to create endless possibilities with this cello. I become the medium through which the music is being channeled.
Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe; a moment that never was before and never will be again.
I listened to Pablo Casals, which was a big change for me. Without hearing Casals, I would never have advanced as I did.
The person who works and is never bored is never old. Work and interest in worthwhile things are the best remedy for age.
Parents shouldn't lie to their children-not even when they think it's for their own good. Even a little lie is dangerous.
With every year of playing, you want to relax one more muscle. Why? Because the more tense you are, the less you can hear.
I feel like we as human beings are trampling all over the natural world, but at the same time, we are totally in its power.
Oh, a man with a guitar is nothing compared to a man with a cello! Girls really like the way that we handle our instruments.
My mom says that my dad coerced me into choosing the cello. He says that's not entirely true. I don't remember; I was three.
The cello is like a beautiful woman who has not grown older, but younger with time, more slender, more supple, more graceful.
Explain to me, please, why in our literature and art so often people absolutely incompetent in this field have the final word.
The idea of "making art for art's sake" makes no sense for me. Each area of my life, all the roles I play, influences the others.
'Provenance' is more than a multimedia concert. It's a journey that unifies cultures through music, theater and beautiful visuals.
I'm really not working in a environment that's sonically pristine. It's not a conventional studio, obviously; it's a bit ramshackle.
I'm definitely musician and storyteller. But I always like to take an active role in things I care about socially and environmentally.
Each day I move toward that which I do not understand. The result is a continuous accidental learning which constantly shapes my life.
Around age 11 or 12, I started playing jazz bass. From there, I went to electric bass and then guitar, which I kept up for a long time.
It's just a spare room in my apartment. It's very cluttered and not particularly aesthetically inspiring, and it's very un-noise-proof.
I'm a husband and a dad. Two thirds of my day is spent being that character. It's a huge part of my identity and why I pursue things I do.
Passion is one great force that unleashes creativity, because if you're passionate about something, then you're more willing to take risks.
I feel as though I can get an end result that works for me, but as far as recording techniques, I don't feel that confident in my abilities.
Jazz has been such a force in music, that any musician, including classical composers, have been influenced, and obviously performers, also.
The war years were the most difficult time of my life. There was real famine in Moscow. The water froze inside the houses. There was no heat.
We ought to think that we are one of the leaves of a tree, and the tree is all humanity. We cannot live without the others, without the tree.
There is too much emphasis on technical perfection nowadays, and not enough on what music is actually about - irony, joy, human suffering, love.
When people ask me how they should approach performance, I always tell them the professional musician should aspire to the state of the beginner.
Connection is very important. It's extremely important for me to be connected and sharing with other people, giving them what I feel is important.
Last time I was recording, I was trying to loop on the computer, but it's really difficult because it's really different from looping on hardware.
The reason I make art is because I get to make a choice about who I am, what I do, and what I put out into the world, the footsteps I leave behind.
I enjoy touring and traveling because that's the time when I get to read, and listen to music. You have all that downtime, which is great for that.
The simplest things in music are the ones that count. The simplest thing are, of course, also the most difficult to achieve and take years of work.
When you learn something from people, or from a culture, you accept it as a gift, and it is your lifelong commitment to preserve it and build on it.
Art is consumed in so many different ways. You could say people don't stop to appreciate art. On the other hand, people can consume art more quickly.
Classical music is one of the best things that ever happened to mankind. If you get introduced to it in the right way, it becomes your friend for life.
One of the marks of a great teacher lies not only in an ability to impart knowledge but also in knowing when to encourage a student to go off on his own.
Don’t be vain because you happen to have talent. You are not responsible for that; it was not of your doing. What you do with your talent is what matters.
I used to think that eighty was a very old age. Now I am ninety. I do not think this any more. As long as you are able to admire and to love, you are young.
I'm interested in questions my son asks me, like, "Why do animals fight? Why do you have to leave us to go on the road?" Everything he asks gets me thinking.
You know, you can have someone who's the very best at something, but if there's not that kind of chemistry, collaborating is not going to amount to anything.
A male scorpion is stabbed to death after mating. In chess, the powerful queen often does the same to the king without giving him the satisfaction of a lover.
Sometimes when I'm traveling, I feel a little bit dislocated, especially the transitions you make when you're traveling - you go to a different city every day.
Many of the Central Asians know Russian, and Ted Levin speaks it fluently. I speak Chinese, but Mongolian is completely different, so we had to have translators.
Music has always been transnational; people pick up whatever interests them, and certainly a lot of classical music has absorbed influences from all over the world.
I was a rebel and I wanted to do something that nobody else did, and nobody else played the cello. Also, I was also a small kid and I liked the fact that it was big.
I love the physical thing of being on the earth that bore you. I have the same feeling when I walk in a very beautiful place that I have when I play and it goes right.
I want to investigate different cultures, to see how their identities and values affect their music. It's one way I can get to know our world, at least to a certain depth.
I've been making the recordings for a long time, and I have tons and tons of them. I'm like a digital hoarder or something - everything is on like hard drives and whatever.
The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him.