Inspiring Performance Quotes

Most people are fascinated to see someone play an instrument in an inspired way. We are moved by witnessing musical brilliance, and it was this notion that led me to purchase the GuitarTV domain 10 years ago.

Stevie Winwood played like I'd never heard anybody play before. It just gave me goose bumps.

I don't ascribe to the idea of the ivory tower composer who sits alone in a room composing his masterpieces and then comes down from Mount Sinai with the tablets. It doesn't work like that. The job of a composer is putting something down on a piece of paper that will inspire the person who's playing.

Michael Keaton is amazing. He's one of my favorite actors. To get to work with him was a privilege and really was a wonderful thing.

One of the first memories I have was watching Whoopi Goldberg perform her one-woman show on Broadway on HBO. She moved seamlessly through an array of spirited and soul-stirring characters, each one holding a mirror up to me and allowing me in many ways to see a reflection of myself on screen.

When Jack Nicklaus won the Masters in 1986, it was mind-blowing. How in the world could a 46-year-old win the Masters?

John Floridis was very inspiring. He plays so well.

Whether lyrically or musically, it reaches in there and grabs your soul. That's the stuff I gravitate toward.

Innovation grabs the attention. You go back through the history of cricket and there are certain moments in time that grab you. Kevin Pietersen's flamingo shot was one of those.

[Rubinstein was] a fountain from which music spouted, not a recitalist.

Kids don't see me as an oldies person when I go out on stage. They see me as an energy force.

Creating emotion was what my career was all about. I wanted people to laugh at me; I wanted people to cry with me. I wanted people to feel good or to think about something when they watched me. I think that's why, even not being an Olympic champion, I have such a huge following around the world.

When Tom Morello picks up the guitar, I'm sure what he sees is totally different from what I do, but I love the way he plays.

Claire Danes in 'Homeland' just blew me away. She is so intuitive, and her choices are so unique. When you see somebody like that work, you just have to stop in your tracks. It is a lesson in what good acting really is, and it is so inspiring to be around.

I think when you make a movie, one of your main focuses as a director is to inspire everyone else to give their best. Like manipulation.

John Legend is brilliant. I feel he may be my best collaborator when it comes to delivering that undeniable soulful sound, and he does it in such a classy way.

For me Greece is Maria Farantouri. This is how I imagined Goddess Hera to be: strong, pure and vigilant. I have never encountered any other artist able to give me such a strong sense of the divine.

I haven't been to many music events where somebody was performing and it actually made me cry.