I have always been very proud of my Jewish heritage, which has greatly influenced my music, my world view, and my work as an advocate for individuals whom society often leaves behind.
Interpretation
Pride in one's heritage can shape personal identity and influence artistic expression.
Itzhak Perlman's statement reflects the profound impact of cultural heritage on individual identity and artistic creation. His pride in being Jewish serves as both a source of inspiration in his music and a motivation for his advocacy work, highlighting how one’s background can foster empathy and a desire to support marginalized communities.
In practice
During a speech at a cultural festival, one might reference this quote to emphasize the importance of heritage in personal and professional journeys.
I say to string players in small chamber orchestras, 'it's always easy to become a passenger on the journey in sound, just adding volume to the whole. But if you play in an individual way, it makes the difference between good and great sound in an orchestra.'
In difficult times, people just like to hear music. They like to be moved by what they hear. And music speaks different languages.
Sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left.
For every child prodigy that you know about, at least 50 potential ones have burned out before you even heard about them.
Whenever I play recitals, the part where I talk about music and my experiences of music, audiences always like it. They feel more involved with an artist who talks to them. It's a nice experience for me as well.
I am playing the violin, that's all I know, nothing else, no education, no nothing. You just practice every day.
We have entered a new phase of culture - we may call it the Age of the Cinema - in which the most amazing perfection of scientific technique is being devoted to purely ephemeral objects, without any consideration of their ultimate justification. It seems as though a new society was arising which will acknowledge no hierarchy of values, no intellectual authority, and no social or religious tradition, but which will live for the moment in a chaos of pure sensation.
If culture was a house, then language was the key to the front door, [and] to all rooms inside.
When you talk about Lacrosse, you talk about the lifeblood of the six nations. The game is ingrained into our culture and our system and our lives. (the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora)
Even though I spent the first five years of my life in Nagasaki, going to Japan can be really difficult. Even if they know I've been brought up in the West, they still expect me to understand all the subtleties of their culture, and if I get it wrong, it matters much more than if a British person gets it wrong. I find it intimidating.
By making this wine known to the public, I have rendered my country as great a service as if I had enabled it to pay back the national debt.
My biggest obsession is to show Africans and the world who the people of Africa really are.
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