Kurt Masur Quotes

Basically speaking, conducting is quite a healthy profession.

I kind of alternate between conducting and playing and kind of juggling those things, but I don't use a baton.

Composers are not all good conductors.

I started in music and that's my forte and that's what I've always done and where I'm heading.

There's nothing more frustrating than seeing a conductor say, 'Play softer,' as they're waving their hands in huge gestures.

The one thing I do know is that I'm the best Taylor Hawkins drummer there is, and that is all I can hope to be. And when it comes to music, musicianship and skill, there is no such thing as better or worse because so much is personal opinion, and I can see that now.

I'm a natural piano player. So all the practicing I do at this point is in my head. If I don't play for a year, my chops aren't going to get any worse. I've spent my time playing scales, and I don't necessarily want to play any faster than I play. So everything I do at this point is more philosophical.

Technique is communication: the two words are synonymous in conductors.

I know I'm not musically talented.

I think when you're learning an instrument, you are restricted because much of it is the noise of individual theory and your ability to play the instrument.

I was always good at music.

I really want to get better at conducting.

I find little in the works of Beethoven, Berlioz, Wagner and others when they are led by a conductor who functions like a windmill.

There are more bad musicians than there is bad music.

Until you learn to play what you want to hear, you're barking up the wrong tree.

I consider myself to be an inept pianist, a bad singer, and a merely competent songwriter. What I do, in my opinion, is by no means extraordinary.

A conductor can do wild things which can feel forced, but if you're directing from within the orchestra, you can't do that, things have to feel natural.

Even your most talented employees have room for growth in some area, and you're doing your employee a disservice if the sum of your review is: 'You're great!' No matter how talented the employee, think of ways he could grow towards the position he might want to hold two, five, or 10 years down the line.

It's different for people who have not seen a symphony conductor conduct from a chair. I feel very connected to the orchestra in a way that a conductor sometimes does not feel. I think it's more visceral.

If you have ability in a certain area, why not capitalize on it and improve it and use it?

My harmony is passable but is usually made more eloquent at the hands of Steve Hamilton.

I still take acting, singing, and dance classes. I think no matter where you go in your career, you can always learn more and better yourself.

See, I'm not a very good musician.

I was different from most young conductors today.

No one has any respect for someone who can play a million notes per minute but can't put together a decent tune that someone can sing to or feel some sort of emotion from.