Daniel Barenboim Quotes

Pardon me for loitering in front of an orchestra.

I wanted to play my violin and have my musical expression through the instrument. But then I was really young when I had my first opportunity to conduct.

I had a number of very strong personalities in my family. My father was a concert flutist, the solo flute for Toscanini.

The way it works: The orchestra plays a few selections of its own and I terminate the first part of the programme on piano, usually with a movement from a Mozart concerto.

We've been performing with symphonies all of our career and it sounds so wonderful when they play 'My Girl' with the large string section, I want to turn around and look.

To me, there is nothing like the excitement and unique experience of a live orchestra playing.

I was taken to concerts when I was six, seven years old, and sat in a box throughout the whole evening.

I was always the kid on scholarship, I was a soloist with my company, I'd been working with the symphony since I was 14.

The New York Philharmonic is a tremendous opportunity, a great orchestra.

I love doing concert music.

I've been lucky to conduct the very best orchestras in the world: New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Berlin, the London Philharmonic.

When I was just coming up, I always wanted to be able to perform to a large crowd with a symphony.

Bernstein was everywhere - Vienna, London - and everyone admired him. Of course he loved Boston, and he did so many great things at Tanglewood. He was the best example of what a conductor should be.

Fortunately, I started very young, so I read music very well. And my favorite composers to play are Brahms and Mozart.

I'm lucky enough to be doing my dream job, but my second dream job would be to be a concert pianist.

Of course, we also have to play in concert halls. This is our dream when you are a musician - to play in a good, comfortable hall with a wonderful acoustic.

I recently did a piece for the Boston Pops and John Williams, and I hope that it's as well a composed piece as I've ever done for any other medium or occasion.

I've conducted the Boston Pops! Imagine that! Me! Maya Angelou! I've sang and danced at La Scala!

I started writing music when I was around twelve. My current record company saw a video of me performing at my school's talent show.

My first job after my retirement from baseball was as a narrator for the Eastman Philharmonica.

I was a singer professionally when I was four years old, and I did not really begin to play any instrument - the first one, of course, was drums - till I was about nine years old.

Next year I'm going to be a guesting soloist with orchestras all over Europe, to start off with.

I grew up in an era where an orchestra was like a treasure chest.

With American orchestras, in particular, because they play in such huge halls, getting a true pianissimo is very hard.

And at the same time, I had my very first concert at the age of 16. I hadn't heard a symphony orchestra before, and I was so deeply impressed I said I have to be a conductor.