Krzysztof Penderecki Quotes

A lot of people have told me along the way that my style and the music I do... is unmarketable. But the only reason I'm successful is because I have stayed true to myself.

I'd rather have people dislike my style than change it. If someone says, 'Hey, Yngwie, you play too damn much,' I don't care. They way I play is the way I like to play. If people like it, great. If they don't, it's still fine with me.

I've learnt that I've had the best results from just trying to be me, trying to make a movie or TV show I want to see or write a script I want to read, and that's really all I can offer - being authentic.

I feel like the point of being an artist is to have your own voice: to do it the way you would do it and not the way anyone else would do it. If you're a strong enough writer, then that voice is going to come out all the time, and I can't stop it from coming out, no matter what I do.

I don't rap like nobody, I don't try to sound like nobody.

I'm not trying to stay in the same place and I'm not trying to compete with what's currently in fashion. That would be dishonest. But, at the same time, I'm different and the music reflects that to some degree.

I learned early in my writing career that if I try to tailor a song for someone else, I'm usually off base. They're usually looking for something from you with your character.

You have to be who you are when you do music.

If you look at the common denominator of all the comics who have had big success, it's being true to their nature... that's what takes a long time to learn.

When I was shopping around trying to get signed, I made it a point to say, 'This is who I am.' I dress the way I normally dress, and I just wanted to find a label that would accept me for that.

I'm just trying to be myself - make music how I make music.

When directors tell me they want a song like one, I tell them no song should be like another. I don't listen to directors.

I can only sing songs my way. I don't know any other way.

I'm certainly not who people think I am. I always do whatever I want to do, and my films are personal to me.

Sometimes, there's a preconceived notion of how a scene or how a work should be delivered. And I see young performers sometimes try and deliver that, and it's not really true to their voice or who they are.

I don't want ever to be guilty of what my critics claim: doing formula without original elements.

To be a true artist, I have to be true to who I am now and write that way.

If I'm going to sing like someone else, then I don't need to sing at all.

Books are not brands. Some people are very willing to see themselves as a brand, but you can't be a certain type of writer to a certain type of person all the time. It will kill you.

If you're trying to please everyone, then you're not going to make anything that is honestly yours, I don't think, in the long run.

I can only be me. I have a hard time being a chameleon as a singer.

Just trying to be different - when I hear something - I don't like to go trampling on other people's sounds.

Labels don't mean anything to me. I'm trying to play as passionately as I'm able to. If they want to call that cool, that's fine. Just spell the name right, is the formula.

What I've learned from different designers is that it's key to be true to who you are and your vision. That's always been my line of thinking. Working through the whole design process, I don't want to create something I wouldn't be proud to wear.

I think the illest thing about Wiz Khalifa is how true to himself he's always been, and I miss that from artists. Nothing about what he does ever felt like he was reaching to be something that he wasn't.