Itzhak Perlman Quotes

21 quotations by Itzhak Perlman

You get more nervous in front of a lot of people. That's why, when you play a concerto, you play with a small orchestra, in some place where you don't feel that it is as important as Carnegie Hall.

When you play a concerto with a small orchestra, you don't feel it is as important as Carnegie Hall. You try to work out all the little problems. Once that's all done, trust comes in.

Trust your ability!

The most important thing to do is really listen.

That's the goal, to survive your gift.

That makes classical music work, the ability to improvise.

So many things can drive you mad as a child, not only music.

One of the most important elements in teaching, conducting, and performing, all three, is listening.

In Paris they have special wheelchairs that go through every doorway. They don't change the doorways, they change the wheelchairs. To hell with the people! If someone weighs a couple more pounds, that's it!

I'm now doing three things: concerts, conducting, and teaching, and they each support each other. I learn to see things from different perspectives and listen with different ears. The most important thing that you need to do is really listen.

I love to work with young kids.

I listen to kids play a lot.

I feel that you always pay when you are a child.

I don't feel that the conductor has real power. The orchestra has the power, and every member of it knows instantaneously if you're just beating time.

I am playing the violin, that's all I know, nothing else, no education, no nothing. You just practice every day.

For every child prodigy that you know about, at least 50 potential ones have burned out before you even heard about them.

Competition can be the most nerve-racking experience. Some people just thrive on it.

Child prodigy is a curse because you've got all those terrible possibilities.

Any gifted child can potentially get in real trouble because of the way they are handled.

Another thing that I don't like to do is show too much how it goes. I do it once in a blue moon. Sometimes there are lessons when I don't pick up a violin at all.

A sponge has that much absorbent capability and after a while you can pour water over it and nothing stays.