Best 54 quotes of Itzhak Perlman on MyQuotes

A lot of people like to think that polio was a inspiration in what I do. I think that music has to do with what kind of passion do you have.

A lot of society tries to put people with disabilities into one cube, and when you think about it, many, many people have different types of disabilities, and you cannot put a code that applies towards everyone - generally, they can be guidelines, but in the long run, interior designers and architects need more education on the subject. That's what's missing.

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.

Another thing that you really do when you play, that you're supposed to do, is colors. You know, you cannot play with one color. If you play with one color, again, it's like watching a beautiful painting, a drawing, but it's all in blue or it's all in red. May be very nice, but not very interesting.

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

Ask many of us who are disabled what we would like in life and you would be surprised how few would say, 'Not to be disabled.' We accept our limitations.

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

Beethoven concertos ... Tchaicovsky concertos ... with a lot of these wonderful masterpieces there's always something wonderful to find ... there's always something new to find.

Believe me, I've had interviews where the person says, "So when did you start and why? What about your parents?" I say to them, "Please, have you heard of the word Google?

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

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

Don't play the way it goes. Play the way it is. And the way it is every time you play it, it's slightly different. Look for something. So that's the challenge not to be bored.

Everybody has a different kind of talent and a different timetable as to when they develop.

Every person with a disability has a slightly different kind of disability. Not everybody has the same problems. Usually the wheelchairs are the wheelchairs. It's the same height and so on. It's a problem.

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

For people who are really talented, what you don't say becomes extremely important. You have to judge what to say and what to leave alone so you can let the talent develop.

I always consider myself lucky that I can actually cry listening to some music.

I always say separate your abilities from your disabilities. You know, if I could play the violin, I don't have to play it standing up. I can play it sitting down and so on.

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

I can actually see the sound in my head. I can actually see it... But each sound is different so this one has that sparkle, there is a sparkle to the sound.

I couldn't only do one thing--I don't want the personal hell of oneness.

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 don't walk on stage unless I'm playing with a orchestra. But when I play a recital, I'm sort of on a scooter, and I just scoot very quickly on stage, and they're saying, wow, look at this. He's so fast.

I do three things. I do teaching, I do conducting and I do playing. And each one of those sort of helps the other.

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

I find personally that when I go to a place where I can't get in, I feel hostility from whatever it is, a hotel, a shop, a market, a street corner where there are no curb cuts, because somebody forgot to put them in, and where I have to go two blocks to the corner to do it. A lot of the excuses are, "Well, this is an old building." That's my favorite one. "This is an old building." It's as though 50 years ago, people with disabilities did not exist. As if the disabled are a new problem. It has always been a problem.

If you play something well, I don't care what it is. I mean, I don't play an electric [violin] - I tried. It's actually interesting.

..I heard Ori Kam and was deeply impressed with his achievements as a violist. His technical and interpretive skills are truly unique. I see a great future for him.

I look at raising funds for The Perlman Music Program as a challenge and as a way to provide opportunities for people who care about the future of classical music.

I'm just a one-instrument player. I have been known to play a blender, but I basically play - just play the violin.

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.

In difficult times, people just like to hear music. They like to be moved by what they hear. And music speaks different languages.

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!

Just imagine yourself in a wheelchair. Go through the building. If there's a place you can't go in, it's not accessible.

Life is not as easy as it could be for a person with a disability.

Never miss an opportunity to teach; when you teach others, you teach yourself.

Nothing is better for my playing than teaching because when you teach, you have to think and you have to listen what other people do. And then all of a sudden, you play yourself and then you say, my goodness, I don't need a teacher. I'm my own teacher. Then I can react to what I'm doing immediately. It really improves.

Not many people like it when they get criticism. Of course, if you have someone who does tell you and you do have a rapport, that's great. But don't rely on it. You have to rely on yourself.

One must always practice slowly. If you learn something slowly, you forget it slowly.

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

Preparing for a future in music is an expensive proposition.

Same thing with harmonies. If you hear something that harmonically is interesting, express it. So that's what I'm saying about talking the music rather than just playing through.

Sometimes you get from the mouth of kids wonderful things.

That makes classical music work, the ability to improvise.

The most important thing to do is really listen.

There are people who are uncanny, who are finished products at a young age. I wasn't, thank God.

There is nothing like a fine Italian sound.

The thing is that what you try to do when you play is you try to play not below a certain level. In other words, it can be a special day where it would be phenomenal, but if it's not below a certain level, that's the goal. You know, that's what you want to do. That's why you practice and so on.

The Violin of my dreams. If you wanna play a pianissimo that is almost inaudible and yet it carries through a hall that seats 3,000 people, there's your Strad.

This machine, the wheelchair, I can go all over the place, but you need a place without stairs to get in.