Piano Virtuoso Quotes

Liberace was a miracle. You talk about who he was and what he did, and then you look at who he inspired, from Elton John to Cher to Michael Jackson to Bette Midler. There are so many people that came to see him. Elvis was there, watching his shows.

Thelonius Monk went over to Bird and Bud Powell and said, 'I told you guys to act crazy, but I didn't tell you to fall in love with the act. You're really crazy now.'

My dream job is being a pianist

Yeah, you're a regular Mozart...well, except for the whole music thing.

Mozart starved, but you allow Thalberg and Liszt make tons of gold: Of course, you may think that someone immortal cannot die of hunger

A lot of people can play the piano, but not everyone can be Billy Joel.

The real Brahms is nothing more than a sentimental voluptuary

If I had my life to live over, I wish I could be a great pianist or something.

I was a strange, loud little kid who could sit at the piano and kill a Beethoven piece.

Did you know that Mozart had no arms and no legs? I've seen statues of him on people's pianos.

Eric Lewis doesn't play the piano, he devours it. He doesn't play music, he channels the divine.

Duke Ellington is my choice for many reasons. Nobody has written so many great pieces of music, which are everlasting, and he has made them available to the world through his orchestrations of his work in a unique way. Lastly, he was himself a fine pianist. He covers the entire musical spectrum with his genius.

It was an unforgettable picture to see Chopin sitting at the piano like a clairvoyant, lost in his dreams; to see how his vision communicated itself through his playing, and how, at the end of each piece, he had the sad habit of running one finger over the length of the plaintive keyboard, as though to tear himself forcibly away from his dream.

Just as surely as every new language mastered opens up a new world, so knowledge of a Beethoven, a Chopin, or a Schumann opens up a new world in spiritual beauty and thought.

I never thought about the gayness. Liberace just looked like he was having so much fun. And that whole idea of talking directly to the audience, you just went along with him. He made you happy. And he's finally getting acknowledged for all the Elton John, Lady Gaga, Madonna theatrics now that people are looking at his old costumes.

Liberace was one of the biggest stars in America. He was a kind of a phenomenon.

Glenn Gould was my hero. Glenn Gould was my idol. I loved him.

Imagine the talented love-child of Andr Previn and Lucille Ball.

When I was a kid I used to want to be a Beethoven or something. That was my dream.

Those are terrible people who don't like Glenn Gould... I will have nothing to do with such people, they are dangerous people.

I would have given my right arm to have been a pianist.

I thought I knew Elton John, but then it was like, "Woah, Elton's a pimp! He's really amazing." And since Billy and Elton are homies, I'm finally getting it - the two piano boys.

My teachers are Duke Ellington and nature.