Composer Quotes - Page 7

• The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.

  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

  Inspirational, Music, Art

  355 Copy quote

• Now there is no taboo; everything is allowed. But one cannot simply go back to tonality, it’s not the way. We must find a way of neither going back nor continuing the avant-garde. I am in a prison: one wall is the avant-garde, the other wall is the past, and I want to escape.

  Gyorgy Ligeti

  Wall, Past, Escaping

  "Ligeti" by Alex Ross, www.therestisnoise.com. June 12, 2000.

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  A gentleman is someone who can play the accordion, but doesn't.

  Tom Waits

  Funny, Music, Humorous

  131 Copy quote

• As far as being a 'player's player,' you've only got to go to Nashville or Argentina and you can forget about it. The world is full of amazing guitar players, and you know it, and I know it...it's a humbling experience.

  Mark Knopfler

  Music, Player, Guitar

  74 Copy quote

• In my opinion, the trombone is the true head of the family of wind instruments, which I have named the 'epic' one. It possesses nobility and grandeur to the highest degree; it has all the serious and powerful tones of sublime musical poetry, from religious, calm and imposing accents to savage, orgiastic outburst. Directed by the will of the master, the trombones can chant like a choir of priests, threaten, utter gloomy sighs, a mournful lament, or a bright hymn of glory; they can break forth into awe-inspiring cries and awaken the dead or doom the living with their fearful voices.

  Hector Berlioz

  Music, Religious, Powerful

  67 Copy quote

• My faith is the grand drama of my life. I'm a believer, so I sing words of God to those who have no faith.
  I give bird songs to those who dwell in cities and have never heard them, make rhythms for those who know only military marches or jazz, and paint colors for those who see none.

  Olivier Messiaen

  Life, Music, God

  62 Copy quote

• Artists like Bach and Beethoven erected churches and temples on the heights. I only wantedto build dwellings for men in which they might feel happy and at home

  Edvard Grieg

  Music, Art, Home

  Edvard Grieg, Richard Yates (2010). “Edvard Grieg: 16 Lyric Pieces”, p.36, Mel Bay Publications

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• Focused will is incredible. If you have a dream and you don’t give up no matter what obstacles come up, then life’s problems will fall away and you will get what you want. It happens. It works.

  Yanni

  Inspirational, Moving On, Success

  Yanni, David Rensin (2003). “Yanni in Words”, Miramax Books

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• The less you want, the richer you are. The more you need in order to be happy, the more miserable you’ll be.

  Yanni

  Inspirational, Happiness, Happy

  Yanni, David Rensin (2003). “Yanni in Words”, Miramax Books

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• I have no illusions about being a genius musician. I pride myself on being a soldier, a warrior for jazz. I trained a lot of young people, and I've learned my lessons well. I'd like to keep the flame burning.

  Phil Woods

  Warrior, Pride, Flames

  240 Copy quote

• It is only when we become aware that our time is limited that we can channel our energy into truly living

  Ludovico Einaudi

  Time, Musician, Energy

  92 Copy quote

• So much of what we do is ephemeral and quickly forgotten, even by ourselves, so it's gratifying to have something you have done linger in people's memories.

  John Towner Williams

  Memories, People, Done

  95 Copy quote

• You are never alone or helpless. The force that guides the stars guides you too.

  Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar

  Spiritual, Wisdom, Buddhist

  92 Copy quote
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  Music can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable.

  Leonard Bernstein

  Music, Communication, Talking

  Leonard Bernstein (1976). “The Unanswered Question: Six Talks at Harvard”, p.140, Harvard University Press

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• You have a unique message to deliver, a unique song to sing, a unique act of love to bestow. This message, this song, and this act of love have been entrusted exclusively to the one and only you.

  John Powell

  Love, Inspirational, Marriage

  John Powell (1995). “A Life-Giving Vision: How to Be a Christian in Today's World”, Thomas More Press

  63 Copy quote

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• The essential conditions of everything you do must be choice, love, passion.

  Nadia Boulanger

  Love, Inspirational, Work

  Biography/Personal Quotes, www.imdb.com.

  69 Copy quote

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• I've been a woman for a little over 50 years and have gotten over my initial astonishment. As for conducting an orchestra, that's a job where I don't think sex plays much part.

  Nadia Boulanger

  Music, Jobs, Sex

  "Biography / Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

  195 Copy quote

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• I am God! I am nothing, I'm play, I am freedom, I am life. I am the boundary, I am the peak.

  Alexander Scriabin

  Life, God, Freedom

  69 Copy quote

• Whether a person is spiritual or not, we all seek to get away from the stress, anger, and anxiety of everyday life. Some people drink, do drugs, or do worse to escape, and they hurt themselves in the process. Some people listen to music, mine included, and feel better.

  Yanni

  Life, Motivational, Music

  Yanni (2003). “Yanni in Words”

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• Creativity is more than just being different. Anybody can plan weird; that's easy. What's hard is to be as simple as Bach. Making the simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity.

  Charles Mingus

  Inspirational, Music, Art

  81 Copy quote
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  In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.

  Paul McCartney

  Love, Inspirational, Life

  Song: Golden Slumbers

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• Since the beginning of time, children have not liked to study. They would much rather play, and if you have their interests at heart, you will let them learn while they play.

  Carl Orff

  Education, Children, Learning

  "Langley Schools Music Project Innocence and Despair" by Dominique Leone, pitchfork.com. January 6, 2002.

  72 Copy quote

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• One has a nose. The nose scents and it chooses. An artist is simply a kind of pig snouting truffles.

  Igor Stravinsky

  Music, Art, Creativity

  "The Apollonian Clockwork". Book by Louis Andriessen, 1983.

  71 Copy quote

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• Don’t be sad by what you see
  It’s true life has it’s miseries
  But one thing’s always worked for me
  Worry ends when faith begins.

  Sami Yusuf

  Inspirational, Life, Sad

  Song: Worry Ends

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• To meditate for world peace, to pray for a better world, and to work for social justice and environmental protection while continuing to purchase the flesh, milk, and eggs of horribly abused animals exposes a disconnect that is so fundamental that it renders our efforts absurd, hypocritical, and doomed to certain failure.

  Will Tuttle

  Prayer, Failure, Hypocrite

  Will Tuttle (2007). “The World Peace Diet: Eating for Spiritual Health and Social Harmony”, p.197, Lantern Books

  49 Copy quote

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