Ruggiero Ricci Quotes

Then certainly for a musician timing becomes something that is immediately accessible as a concept, because it's a necessity in ones everyday performance.

A lot of people think the orchestra is playing and the conductor doesn't do very much, but the conductor's the person that gives shape to the music, gets the phrasing, and if he has really fine musicians in solo spots, the question is does he try to help them phrase, or does he let them go?

One learns how to change gears within a concert repertoire.

It's easy to play any musical instrument: all you have to do is touch the right key at the right time and the instrument will play itself.

How to play music may be known. At the commencement of the piece, all the parts should sound together. As it proceeds, they should be in harmony while severally distinct and flowing without break, and thus on to the conclusion.

There are two golden rules for an orchestra: start together and finish together. The public doesn't give a damn what goes on in between.

I play in tune like a cello player and use legitimate vibrato. There are no tricks; it's just all in the hands!

I've always been accused of moving around too much when I play concertos. Sometimes, conductors ask me which of us is leading.

The value of music is to be able to play one note at the right time in the right way.

A melody without the right rhythm hardly exists.

I read and write classical piano and percussion, also guitar.

A melody is not merely something you can hum.

I listened to many different types of instruments and music, and have always tried to look at the bass as an instrument as opposed to only a bass.

What I try to impart to a musician is to really try to practice the instrument in a really sincere way. Learn as much about music as you possibly can. Learn composition. Study to try to create compositions of your own and put your own personal touch on your music.

In music, the punctuation is absolutely strict, the bars and rests are absolutely defined. But our punctuation cannot be quite strict, because we have to relate it to the audience. In other words we are continually changing the score.

All the conductor has to do is stand back and try not to get in the way. Mozart is doing all the work.

In symphonic music, when you are conducting, you do the same thing. You are feeling the whole orchestra, thinking ahead so you can prepare for a change.

I played piano, I learned a lot about music.

If I'm playing a violin thing, for instance, I tend to respond to that sound with the way I finger.

Scales played in the correct musical way are very exciting and rewarding.

And you don't want to just totally mess up the rhythm when you're playing with Bob Dylan.

I started playing piano with a little band in high school. I was terrible. I thought I had absolutely no talent. I couldn't keep time. I only got into McGill, which was a lousy music school, because they were taking American music students.

Musical composition, about which I know little, is a complicated art, and some contemporary music may be the equivalent of a complex abstract painting.

I've never tapped in my whole entire career.

You've got to be able to play in the box and play deep.