My future is in my past and my past is my present. I must now make the present my future.
Vladimir HorowitzRead
The score is not a bible, and I am never afraid to dare. The music is behind those dots.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes that music transcends mere notation and encourages boldness in interpretation.
Vladimir Horowitz suggests that musical notation is not an absolute guide ('not a bible') but rather a starting point for creative expression. He expresses a willingness to take risks and explore the deeper essence of music that lies beyond the written notes, highlighting the importance of personal interpretation and daring innovation in artistic performance.
In practice
A musician who wants to inspire others during a performance can quote this to highlight their unique approach to music.
My future is in my past and my past is my present. I must now make the present my future.
I may play the same program from one recital to the next, but I will play it differently, and because it is always different, it is always new.
I must tell you I take terrible risks. Because my playing is very clear, when I make a mistake you hear it. If you want me to play only the notes without any specific dynamics, I will never make one mistake. Never be afraid to dare.
You have to open the music, so to speak, and see what's behind the notes because the notes are the same whether it is the music of Bach or someone else.
Always there should be a little mistake here and there - I am for it. The people who don't do mistakes are cold like ice. It takes risk to make a mistake. If you don't take risk, you are boring.
For me, the intellect is always the guide but not the goal of the performance. Three things have to be coordinated, and not one must stick out. Not too much intellect because it can become scholastic. Not too much heart because it can become schmaltz. Not too much technique because you become a mechanic.
I was always the first person in the theater all the time. If it was an eight-o'clock curtain, I was here at five-thirty, and it wasn't that I needed to vocalize, because I was all warmed up. I couldn't wait for it to begin.
I'm not one of those writers who insist they don't read reviews and don't care much about them. I do read them, and I do care about them, and they're not always what you want them to be in an ideal world.
We find things beautiful because we recognize them and contrariwise we find things beautiful because their novelty surprises us.
The dignity of the artist lies in his duty of keeping awake the sense of wonder in the world.
In the olden days, everybody sang. You were expected to sing as well as talk. It was a mark of the cultured man to sing.
Write your own songs. It helps you to mean what you're singing, which will then make it mean something to listeners.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.