Famous quotes
Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,158,808 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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Music
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“The New Age music: "gave the opportunity for untalented people to make very boring music".”
Vangelis (1943–2022) said by 2022 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If I've made money from music, it was never my aim to do that. I didn't do it to become famous. I absolutely respect and I believe I serve music.”
Vangelis (1943–2022) said by 2022 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Classical music is a perennially flowing river and nothing can affect its flow. No one needs to worry about Indian music. It is forever.”
M. Balamuralikrishna (1930–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our arts, particularly music, are more livelier than any sport. I play with my `raagas.' And there is no defeat here. Only victory for everyone - singers, listeners and the music itself.”
M. Balamuralikrishna (1930–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Beatles' "aryan" music removed any trace of black music from rock and roll: it replaced syncopated african rhythm with linear western melody, and lusty negro attitudes with cute white-kid smiles.”
Piero Scaruffi (born 1955) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Music is not a way to reach god. Music is god.”
Krishna Kant Shukla (born 1959) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I’m nothing but a conduit. The music goes though my ears, my fingers... Composer is a god. Composer creates music. We’re performers. We’re just passing it on.”
Valentina Lisitsa (born 1970) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I can only think of music as something inherent in every human being - a birthright. Music coordinates mind, body and spirit.”
Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999) said by 1999 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Cited in: Dream It. List It. Do It!: How to Live a Bigger & Bolder Life, from the Life List Experts at 43Things.com, Workman Publishing (25 December 2008), p. 98
“Music has its existence on the borderline between meaning and nonsense. That is why most attempts to attribute a specific meaning to a piece of music seem to be beside the point—even when the attribution is authoritative, even when it is made by the composer himself.”
Charles Rosen (1927–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Inaudible music may seem an odd notion, even a foolishly Romantic one—although it is partly the Romantic prejudice in favor of sensuous experience that makes it seem odd. Still, there are details of music which cannot be heard but only imagined, and even certain aspects of musical form which cannot be realized in sound even by the imagination.”
Charles Rosen (1927–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is typical of Schumann's musical thinking to construct this complex network of references outside his music-to quote Beethoven, and then to have Beethoven's distant beloved refer to Clara. But this should give a clue to the nature of Schumann's achievement. It is not Schumann's music that, refers to Clara but Beethoven's melody, the "secret tone.”
Charles Rosen (1927–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Folk music is always considered a good thing. There is a catch, however: it has to be "real" folk music, anonymous, evoking not an individual but a communal personality, expressive of the soil.”
Charles Rosen (1927–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The opposition between structure and sonority in music is almost as misleading as that between line and color in the visual arts. Baudelaire insisted, correctly, that Delacroix was one of the three greatest draftsmen of the century, and emphasized his mastery of line. In the same way, a study of Chopin demonstrates the intimate relation between line and color in music.”
Charles Rosen (1927–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Peace is the music of every soul. Our glory lies in understanding, listening and honoring that music.”
“[O]f all the arts, music makes the most direct appeal to the emotions and to those shadowy, but real portions of our being called the imagination and the soul. Emotion is as indispensible to music as love to religion.”
Walter Raymond Spalding (1865–1962) said by 1962 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Music is the fountainhead: everything comes from that. At the moment, I'm getting intoxicated on Beethoven, and I use Pink Floyd for inspiration while making a film. Their music contains a sound for almost everything I do.”
Peter Weir (born 1944) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Joni's genius is that she creates chords that are ambiguous, chords that have two or more different roots. ...Joni's music is as close to impressionist visual art as anything I've heard. ...harmonic complexity born out of her strict insistence that the music not be anchored in a single harmonic interpretation.”
Daniel Levitin (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I think we will see personalized music stations in the next few years... controlled by computer algorithms... I think it will be important that... listeners have an "adventuresomeness" knob that will control the mix of old and new, or the mix of how far out the new music is from what they usually listen to.”
Daniel Levitin (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Cosmides and Tooby argue that music's function in the developing child is to help prepare its mind for a number of complex cognitive and social activities, exercising the brain so that it will be ready for the demands placed on it by language and social interaction. ...Mother-infant interactions involving music almost always entail both singing and rhythmic movement...”
Daniel Levitin (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Music's evolutionary origin is established because it is present across all humans; it has been around for a long time; it involves specialized brain structures... and it is analogous to music making in other species.”
Daniel Levitin (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Music has been a shaping force... music has been there to guide the development of human nature.”
Daniel Levitin (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There was strong music in the sky: the music of sunset. In the west, a wall of clear red amber through which the sun went blazing down. The remainder of the sky was smoky rose, a color like a perfume—musk. The earth had given up its tinctures. Heights and depths and long dunes were melting into the air.”
Tanith Lee (1947–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Those who look for contradictions will be amply satisfied. The profession of a performer is full of paradoxes, and he has to learn to live with them. He has to forget himself and control himself; he has to observe the composer's wishes to the letter and create the music on the spot; he has to be part of the music market and yet retain his integrity.”
Alfred Brendel (1931–2025) first seen 1976 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Alfred Brendel (1976), as cited in: Benny Shanon (2013). The Representational and the Presentational. p. 380.
“Music is now quite another thing for me than it used to be. How blissful, how full of longing it sounds; it is indescribable ... I could wear myself out now at the piano, my heart is eased by the tones and what sympathy it offers! ... Oh, how beautiful music is; so often it is my consolation when I would like to cry.”
Clara Schumann (1819–1896) first seen 1838 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter from Clara Wieck to Robert Schumann (Aug 1838)
“Any artist worth his salt thinks music far more than he practices. Practice divides the mind between music and the mechanics of managing hands and feet. Inward hearing has its roots in musical thought.”
Benno Moiseiwitsch (1890–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I was working on a title called, “Untitled Solo,” and I had made—using the chance operations—a series of movements written on scraps of paper for the legs and the arms, the head, all different. And it was done not to the music but with the music of Christian Wolff.”
Merce Cunningham (1919–2009) said by 2009 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Music is something everyone on Earth can share. Music is meant to heal us, to bring us together, to make us happy.”
Ariana Grande (born 1993) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Twitter statement on the Manchester terrorist attack (26 May 2017)
“The Ainu, with their improvisational style of both composing music and dancing, greatly influenced me. I became very different from the other music students, who had been raised with European pieces, because of this. They had been taught that composition is very difficult, but to me, it seemed relatively easy because of the freedom allowed for by the improvisational style of the Ainu.”
Akira Ifukube (1914–2006) first seen 1992 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted by David Milner, "Akira Ifukube Interview I", Kaiju Conversations (December 1992)
“When I am designing, I make a selection of music that will be the inspiration behind the whole collection... I will be blasting that music—it becomes a journey I take in my brain to transfer that sound to the clothing.”
“Baby boomers and their music rebelled against parents because they were parents—nurturing, attentive, and overly present (as those teenagers often saw it) authority figures. Today's teenagers and their music rebel against parents because they are not parents—not nurturing, not attentive, and often not even there.”
Ben Shapiro (born 1984) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Now, there are some periods of music, some pitches of which I can hear nothing... of my music as well as of others. I feel that there is on my shoulders nothing more than a terrible cloak of misery and discouragement.”
Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) first seen 1903 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Private letter, dated August 1903, discussing Fauré's encroaching deafness; as quoted in At the Piano with Gabriel Fauré (1963) by Marguerite Long, p. 26
“There is a lot of German and French influence there…The music uses accordions and German-style brass bands, reinterpreted in a Mexican style. I like to say that Mexicans took German and French music and made it sexy.”
Linda Ronstadt (born 1946) first seen 2020 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On the traces of German and French influences in her Spanish music albums in “Linda Ronstadt: 'I had to sing those songs or I was going to die'” in The Guardian (2020 Oct 20)
“[...] I learned from those evening recitals that music could ache and hurt, that beautiful music was a place a suffering man could hide.”
Pat Conroy (1945–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Music indeed changes and evolves with time, as does the preferences of the audience, I believe it is a good idea to listen to and appreciate all kinds of music. That is how we learn to differentiate and educate ourselves. However, it is important to never forget our roots, without roots nothing grows!”
Navneet Aditya Waiba (born 1901) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The basic purpose of music is to be therapeutic, to raise the life energy of the listener. This simple yet profound truth seems to have been forgotten in this era which acclaims technical virtuosity and sophisticated musicology. The function of music since its beginning has been the spiritual uplifting of the listener so that his life energy is enhanced by the experience.”
John Diamond (doctor) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our first appreciation of music comes through the sounds of the mother, especially her voice and her lullaby. Our earliest musical expression, of which speech is a part, is in a sense a duet with her. And later in life we should still be able to discern the voice of love in the music.”
John Diamond (doctor) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People will say "there's no money in music", that's not true, there's no money in music to people who aren't educated on how to make money.”
Marcus Orelias (born 1993) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Art is about collecting experiences and expressing them. For me music and photography are similar art forms. I collect experiences, stir them in myself and express it in my own language. Just like my photography, music is my language.”
“Poetry itself being the music of thoughts and words, as music is the poetry of sounds.”
Joseph Trapp (1679–1747) said by 1747 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To me, this is very boring music—most of it. It has nothing happening. Nothing is sticking. They’re playing music perfectly with wonderful intonation and technique, but it’s dangerous for jazz itself. I do wish these people all the best.”
Joe Zawinul (1932–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Maybe baseball has to accept that it is now more like classical music than popular music, with football and basketball — and soccer? — being the Justin Biebers and Lady Gagas of sports. Baseball need not hang its head in shame. A lot of things that are good and worthy are not popular. And baseball is plenty popular, for heaven's sake.”
Jay Nordlinger (born 1963) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My favorite aspect about horror music is you can literally write anything you want. You are limited only by your imagination! In fact, many times the more unique and completely original your music is, the better it works in the game and the more the developer loves it.”
Jason Graves (born 1973) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Exclusive Interview: Composer Jason Graves Discusses Dead Space, F.E.A.R. 3 and Resistance: Burning Skies (May 14, 2012)
“Jiggs loved playing his old Victrola in the early evening and often asked Ty to sit with him and listen. The music wasn't always what Ty was exactly interested in, but he listened to please his grandfather. ...Accidentally he found out that reading was allowed while listening to great music. His grandparents had read to him regularly and insisted that Ty read some of the classics.”
Max Evans (author) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have read over a hundred books. And I have played, over and over, recordings of the symphonies of Mozart and Brahms and Prokofiev and Beethoven, and chamber music, and operettas, and various musical works by Bach and Sibelius and Dolly Parton and Palestrina and Lennon. This music sometimes, even more than the books, enlarges my sense of the past.”
Walter Tevis (1928–1984) said by 1984 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I like a certain amount of tension in music…I like the kind of music that maybe makes you think about the status quo.”
Kim Gordon (born 1953) first seen 2019 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On her ideal music in “Kim Gordon unmasked: a natural instinct of going against the grain” in The Sydney Morning Herald (2019 Aug 9)
“Music brought me closer to the idea of God…Music gave me the energy to revise, revive myself; renew, rebirth myself. It was a palliative, a relief.”
Carly Simon (born 1943) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On what Simon wrote regarding music in Boys in the Trees (as stated in “Tales From the Trees: An Interview With Carly Simon” in PopMatters; 2016 Nov 20)
“It was all connected, this poetics of listening, word making, and dancing. There was power to transform, to lighten the heaviness of the burden of being human. That's how I came to understand the power of poetry and music. It was a tool, but more than a tool. Words and music evoked a state of mind that lifted us up when racial and historical despair threatened.”
“I always play or perform music with my poetry. When poetry came into the world, it did not arrive by itself, but it came with music and dance.”
“I was born and raised in this intersection between Harlem and Columbia University. Very much what felt like in-between worlds. But in a very Dominican immigrant Black community. My journey begins with my listening to my parents tell me stories, and with listening to bolero music and listening to hip hop. I wanted to write music long before I ever considered myself a poet or a writer…”
Elizabeth Acevedo (born 1988) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I grew up surrounded by all types of music...You have to remember, Panama is a port so I always had contact with all types of music—from the big bands of Count Basie to all the Cuban bands of people like Benny Moré.”
Rubén Blades (born 1948) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source