Itzhak Perlman Quotes

One of the most important elements in teaching, conducting, and performing, all three, is listening.

The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being said.

I loved teaching and directing choral activities at BYU, but nothing surpasses working with the MTC musicians.

Over the years it has been my privilege to lead performances with Saint Louis, the National Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra and so many other wonderful organizations.

Here's the thing: When you become brilliant at listening, people feel that you care about them. When they feel you care about them, they begin to care about you. And when people care about you, your success becomes a part of how they define their success.

It's sort of the most important thing for acting, is to listen to the person you're dealing with.

The most important thing is that it's much more fun to play in a band than to be in an audience in a club. That's the main thing I think, that you can do it.

The most important thing to do is really listen.

I suppose because I have a good ear, I could pick out harmonies and learn by ear. I still think that you have to have an ear for music to really be able to feel and understand what you're playing. You can learn by watching and listening to other people.

When I did the album for 'When Harry Met Sally,' I found myself out there in front of this big band, which I had no idea how to do, and they wiped the floor with me. It's a very specific skill, and I didn't know how to do it.

The most important thing in an argument, next to being right, is to leave an escape hatch for your opponent, so that he can gracefully swing over to your side without too much apparent loss of face.

Conducting is a strange thing to teach.

Musicians are in-season all the time.

It doesn't matter if they're famous or not - I just want to meet other creative people who can maybe bring something different to the studio than what I have. I think that's the most important thing for me.

I think it's good for the composer to teach because you always have new students and you have to begin at the beginning and make things clear.

Tone is often the most important part of a conversation - and listening is so much more important than what you say.

The most important thing for a good marriage is to learn how to argue peaceably.

Well, I started conducting kind of by accident. I wanted to give myself a special birthday present for my fortieth birthday, and I was living in San Francisco at the time and I started attending some of the concerts and then simply dropping hints.

I love working with children, and I love music.

Here's what I think about music and journalism: The most important thing is to just press play.

Parents and teachers, learn to listen, then listen to learn from children.

I am often stunned and charmed by the simple brilliance of what children say. But you have to be willing to listen.

The thing with music education is that it is good at teaching technique, but not texture. You only learn about that from listening to music and experimenting on your own.

Just to get the basic fundamentals and empathy - I think that's the most important thing to bring to it if you've acted in the past and are now a director: the empathy.

In my human-rights work, perhaps the most important thing is gaining the trust of the victims.