1432 quotes by composers for you to enjoy

My whole thing is not just to play music for people, but to make them part of the evening. Marvin Hamlisch

Music People Part Make Just Them Whole Evening Play Thing Play Music

Many, many years ago, I was one of the few conductors who talked to the audience and now a lot of classical conductors have figured it out... otherwise, you just get the back of someone's head playing music you could hear on a CD. It's not enough anymore. Marvin Hamlisch

Music You Few Enough Otherwise Back Out Classical Someone Could Head Talked Audience Hear Years Years Ago Lot Conductors Get Just Anymore Figured Who Many Now Playing

Soon I worked during twelve years in theater works of the prestigious Theatre National Populaire. It was the best time of my life, the most difficult, the most interesting, the most exciting. Maurice Jarre

Life Time Best Theatre My Life National Difficult Prestigious Best Time Exciting Soon Most Years Theater Interesting Worked Works Twelve

For Ryan's Daughter I used a total of eight harps, something that was, at least, weird. Maurice Jarre

Daughter Harp Total Something Weird Least Eight Used

But, yes, now I wouldn't do some of those soundtracks the way I did them. Maurice Jarre

Way Those Some Soundtracks Yes Did Them Now

Some months ago, while I was preparing a new work, I told a young cinema executive my intention of including in a soundtrack two themes from Bach. But when he asked me which has been the last hit from that Bach?, then I knew that I had no longer place in cinema. Maurice Jarre

Work Me Cinema Young Bach Months Has-Been Some Had He Knew Longer New Executive Soundtrack Been Hit Intention Place Which While Themes Then Asked Including Preparing Last Two

My intention here is to make it clear that not a single cell of my composition, here in regard to The Raven, is found by chance or intuition, that the composition moved towards perfection with the precision and inevitability of a mathematical equation. Maurice Ravel

Single Intuition Composition Raven Clear Perfection Towards Make Equation Inevitability Mathematical Cell Precision Intention Moved Regard Found Here Chance

Remember that I wrote a pavane for a dead princess, and not a dead pavane for a princess! Maurice Ravel

Remember Princess Dead Wrote

I think, as human beings, we all have a fundamental mode, a basic way of relating to the rest of reality, and for me, it's always instinctively been about sound making and trying to extract information, grammar, meaning from sound making. That's been my way of navigating reality that's very personal; a painter might say they make marks or look. Max Richter

Me Reality Rest Think Extract Relating Way Say Marks About Instinctively Look Make Always Making Sound Been Very Mode Trying Personal Human Human Beings Grammar Information Might Meaning Painter Beings Fundamental Basic

If somebody says, 'Well, what are your favorite composers?' really, what they are saying is, 'What are your favorite composers apart from Bach?' Because obviously, Bach is your favorite composer if you are involved in music at all. Max Richter

Music Saying You Somebody Bach Says Favorite Composer Composers Involved Obviously Well Because Apart Really Your

I lived in Scotland a long time, and I became aware of Mogwai really from the beginning. They seemed to be fusing hard music structure and sort of raw sonics. They're just very creative thinkers, musical thinkers. Max Richter

When I'm working with pictures, with images and storytelling, it's really about the sentiment and the emotional trajectory of the characters. That's really where the music lives, I think. That's what I'm focused on; that's what I respond to most strongly. Max Richter

Music Sentiment Think Respond Focused Characters About Strongly Emotional Pictures Most Trajectory Where Storytelling Really Working Lives Images

There's different ways to approach music for sleeping. Things like white noise are functional, like a lullaby. This is more like an inquiry, a question about how music and sleep fit together. Max Richter

We're chronically sleep-deprived as a culture. We're constantly on. Max Richter

Culture Chronically Constantly

I don't have synesthesia, but I think when music is really intense, it's almost like it's more than just hearing. If you're at a gig, and there's just something amazing going on, it's not really just hearing: it's more of a total body sense, isn't it? You get transported, and all your senses kind of join up. Max Richter

Music You Amazing Sense Think Gig Kind Total Something More Join Almost Like Hearing Up Than Get Intense Going Just Senses Just Something Really Body Your

We tend to think that when we're awake, we're on, and when we're sleeping our mind is off, but actually, we're not off. There's a lot going on! Max Richter

Mind Think Sleeping Our Tend Lot Off Going Awake Actually

We're living in our neoliberal, sort of late-stage capitalist culture where human beings are really like objects of production and consumption. We're on our screens all the time; we're kind of being sold at all the time. Max Richter

Time Culture Living Our Sold Kind Objects Consumption Like Sort Human Being Where Human Beings Screens Really Capitalist Production Beings

When you're working in cinema, you often have a very, very compressed schedule - very few weeks to just kind of go through that whole process of reflection and refining - and it has to be done. Max Richter

You Cinema Reflection Few Kind Schedule Through Weeks Go Refining Very Done Often Just Just Kind Process Working Whole

I'm suspicious of the idea of categories in music and this idea of things being in boxes. To me, that seems unnatural. I write the music that somebody with my biography would write, and the thing that's always driven me is an enthusiasm for the material. I sort of follow the notes to where they want to go. Max Richter

Music Me Enthusiasm Somebody Unnatural Would Follow Seems Write Driven Idea Categories Sort Boxes Always Material Go Suspicious Being Where Want Notes Thing Things Biography

'Memoryhouse' came out, and there wasn't a single review and zero sales, and after about a year, it was deleted. So I recorded The 'Blue Notebooks' on a little indie label, and my attitude was, 'Well, if nobody is listening, I might as well keep doing what I'm doing'. Max Richter

Attitude Listening Single Year Out Indie About About A Year Deleted Recorded Nobody Well Doing Came Review Sales Label Blue After Little Notebooks Might Keep Zero

Quotes by Composers