In difficult times, people just like to hear music. They like to be moved by what they hear. And music speaks different languages.
Itzhak PerlmanRead
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.'
Interpretation
Playing individually and with creativity elevates the overall sound of a group.
This quote by Itzhak Perlman emphasizes the importance of individual expression within a collective musical setting. He urges string players in orchestras to avoid merely blending in by increasing their volume, and instead encourages them to bring their unique interpretations and artistry to the music, which can transform a good performance into a great one.
In practice
A music teacher might use this quote to inspire students to find their unique sound.
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.
Israel is the country of my birth. When I come here, I feel I'm coming home.
I consider myself to be an inept pianist, a bad singer, and a merely competent songwriter. ... I'm probably writing music now for the same reason as I started writing songs when I was 14-to meet women. ... If you make music for the human needs you have within yourself, then you do it for all humans who need the same things. You enrich humanity with the profound expression of these feelings. ... My songs are like my kids.
I can't think of a greater guitar icon than someone who has the musical intellect to change what was there before and take music in another direction. That's a guitar hero for me.
I've seen myself on those lists of the 100 best guitarists, and if they think that I'm that good, thank them. Thank God for them. But I don't think so.
I think that music opens portals and doorways into unknown sectors that it takes courage to leap into. I always think that there's a potential that we all have, and we can emerge, rise up to this potential, when necessary. We have to be fearless, courageous, and draw upon wisdom that we think we don't have.
One of the reasons I believe in jazz is that the oneness of man can come through the rhythm of your heart. It’s the same anyplace in the world, that heartbeat. It’s the first thing you hear when you’re born — or before you’re born — and it’s the last thing you hear.
It is Billie Holiday who was, and still remains, the greatest single musical influence on me.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.