Itzhak Perlman Quotes

As long as I can sing halfway decent, I'd rather sing than act. There's nothing like being in good voice, feeling good, having good numbers to do and having a fine orchestra.

I was really conscious of that when I went in because I felt that I was pretty solid on the first one, but I didn't have the groove exactly where I wanted it.

Playing live is such a total visceral experience, and really, as a musician, you're trained from the beginning to be a live performer.

Acting is just a process of relaxation, actually. Knowing the text so well and trusting that the instinct and the subconscious mind, whatever you want to call it, is going to take over.

I have to be composed; I have to be poised. I have to remember what my first piano teacher told me: 'You do not touch that piano until you are ready and until they are ready to listen to you.

I think there's an attitude these days that you can go straight from a studio to the stage, and it isn't really like that. But playing live was the most important thing for me at the start because whenever I recorded something, it didn't sound right; I didn't like how my voice sounded. It was just raw.

I used to get butterflies. Now we're always ready to hit the stage and rock out.

There's no performance where I never have to think about setting up a phrase or making a technical adjustment while I'm performing.

I guess there's this mind shift that happens once you're on stage. I don't know, chemicals, something happens and you just... I just become completely in control of where I am. And it's all about trusting the people that you're on the stage with, listening... and it just falls into place really easily.

There's something interesting about playing live; you're in the moment, and I think it would be beneficial.

I'm very proud of my records, but my most natural creative tendencies have been in live performing. There's a beautiful element to recording and making records, but I've always felt a little shy with it.

Classical stuff takes a lot of rehearsal time and preparation, but with stuff that involves improvisation, you can over-rehearse it and it gets stale. You don't want it to be too comfortable. In fact, a good sound check, a good rehearsal usually means a bad performance.

I've never really been a confident person, except from a musical standpoint. I had to push myself early on, but it got easier with each gig.

I do love to sing. Had I a longer set of thigh bones and a sweeter voice, I should have loved to be a performer.

But I love singing live. Nothing beats the feeling of going out on stage and going, 'I can really sing.'

You've got to learn your instrument. Then, you practice, practice, practice. And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail.

The studio work is the nasty, tedious, hard and nerve-wracking part, interrupted by moments of exhilaration. Playing live is the chance to actually have some fun and get on a stage.

You don't really know a song until you play it live.

It's a constant challenge to get your arrangement and musical expression across to a new audience, especially when you're playing live every night like we are.

In recitals, you are naked before the audience - well, naked with your jacket and tails. The audience sees and hears the real person, not some role you are interpreting.

It's fun finding your way to the performance instead of coming in and hoping to God you're impressing the director - and hoping you're delivering the lines right with no treatment beforehand.

I just get onstage and sing. I don't think about how I'm going to do it - it's too complicated.

As much as we like to pretend we're just getting on stage and whatever, it's like, no, I practiced in front of the mirror my whole life.

I don't ever recall being nervous before performing because I've already stepped into the shoes and the clothes of the character.

Performing is fine.