Top 110 Quotes & Sayings by Hilary Hahn - Page 2

My teacher was still practicing Bach until his death at 89. I have no doubt that if I live that long, I'll be doing the same thing.

I've been to New Zealand several times.

Bach in general was so good with the violin. He just finds the genius way around his music on the instrument.

Deutsche Grammophon really has a grasp of the classical repertoire.

Music can inspire immediate emotional reactions, even if the only person who hears it is the person creating it.

My career direction has probably been guided as much by curiosity and my personality as by my early influences.

I always feel I have a long way to go in my playing and my music.

Musicians are also interpretive artists and we are just as creative as painters and writers. We interpret in a way that expresses ourselves.

Growing up as a classical musician, you're taught a lot about outreach and about how people aren't being taught music in school. But you don't have to study music to like it. And a lot of the music that people like - be it jazz or rock or opera - is stuff they haven't studied.

As more people get into indie bands and alternative music, they're also getting more into other genres that fit those categories, like jazz and classical. It's becoming more rebellious to go to a classical concert. You're getting the younger art house crowd and regular students as well as those who are just curious.

I love performing. The sounds coming at me are dynamic, colorful and multi-layered. The energy from the musicians around me and from the audience is a swirl of excitement. Sometimes, I can feel the stage vibrating under my feet.

For vacation, I like going to places I've never been before. I've gone to some remote places, like the Arctic Circle.

You don't need to be a performer in order to dive into the sensory experience of music. Simply get as close as you can to the source of the music.

I like when things happen very quickly, just flash in and flash out. It keeps things interesting.

Sometimes, I'm not sure why I wind up doing some of the things I do.

I go a lot to Korea and Japan.

It's fine with me if people want to applaud between movements of a concerto. It doesn't bother me - it's part of performance experience.

It's no good to do a piece once and then move on because it doesn't have time to develop. I try to play seven or eight concerti in a season, and generally one or two of those are new for me.

I try to prioritize a certain amount of quiet work every day.

In the performance sense, I find that interpretation is improvisatory in nature. You can go anywhere with an interpretation on any given day.

I like to take walks and getting out and seeing things. These experiences are so irreplaceable and give you a whole different perspective on the greater context that you're in. If I didn't try to take advantage of that, I'd be missing out on a lot of really interesting things.

I enjoy reading and thinking, and it's hard to make that space as an artist.

As a professional, you pick up ideas from your colleagues and the orchestras you work with, while coming up with mutual interpretations in very short periods of time.

Whenever I work with people who are nonclassical artists, I kind of get a kick in the pants. I think, 'How can I apply what I do to their music?'

You couldn't be performing if it weren't for the audience. I appreciate them being there. So why not applaud them? They took time out of their schedule to show up and sit in the concert hall and be part of the experience.

With a Grammy, if you're releasing your record with a major label, you have a chance with any record. You also have a very long shot with every record.

The audience will find the artist who matches their interests. If you're not being true to yourself, your audience can't find you, because there's a wall up between who you are and who they're seeing.

Edgar Meyer's violin concerto was the first piece of contemporary music I worked on in any depth. I was 18 or 19.

I have always enjoyed literature classes, and I took a fiction workshop for writing and analyzing at Curtis... I don't know if would do it professionally, but it's nice to have the balance with the music.

If you start censoring what you're interested in for the audience, you don't give the audience enough credit.

The nice thing about the violin repertoire is that it's small enough that you can plan on learning everything at some point - whereas the piano repertoire is so enormous it wouldn't be possible unless you're a learning machine.

One of the most rewarding things is meeting someone after a concert who has never been to a concert before. It is incredibly rewarding when they say, 'This is my first classical concert.' It is really exciting for everyone.

Taking on music that's not played very much is a contribution I can give. There's so much I feel that needs more attention.

I grew up not watching TV and I enjoy TV but it kind of takes my brain away from me.

I grew up in Baltimore.

I try to do a lot of direct contact with the audience, because the audience is part of the concert, too, as much as anyone on stage, and it's a shame not to get to meet them if you get the chance.

When I started my recording career, I hoped that someday the Grammy committee would notice something.

I don't think there's such a difference between older and newer music as there is between one composer and another.

I am not trying to be cooler or change my image or get into pop music.

I have a lot of interests. I daydreamed about various career options growing up; the one I'm in is the first one that worked out, and I love it, so I feel very lucky.

Composers don't just sit in a room and write things that are in their heads, they actually listen to a lot of music, pop music, jazz, rock and roll, any combination of music that catches their ear.

It's fine with me if people want to applaud between movements of a concerto. It doesn't bother me - it's part of performance experience. Sometimes when they applaud if I'm still playing it's not as good, but there's always a way around it. Actually the applause gives me a little rest and chance to stretch, too.

I just want to work with people, so I always try to find a way to collaborate in the best way for the music.

I pick things up in different cities, so my wardrobe is kind of a souvenir chest.

I think that if people show up in jeans and chains, it's great that all parts of culture are interested in music. People forget sometimes that it's about the music, not how you act and dress.

I don't want people to feel like they have to state something in a certain way because so-and-so might be around on the site. It's nice when people have a forum to discuss things among themselves. If you had a certain special-occasion blog I could probably contribute...I normally post on my site if I'm writing about music, and if you have a specific issue you're addressing or you want me to write about certain topics, then I'd be happy to try.

I've had it for about 13 years, and I don't see any reason to change, I find that the violin just keeps responding really well. It changes itself every year; it ages, it goes through all these different environmental changes, and of course, the travelling...It develops on its own, just as any performer does. It's a very stable instrument, so I can rely on it, but at the same time it always shows me a different side of things than I expect.

I need to be able to play the music, and so I don't like to have intimidation be part of it.

Bach in general was so good with the violin. He just finds the genius way around his music on the instrument. When you think about the fact that the instrument has changed significantly since he wrote for it and his music still really works, it's brilliant. He was definitely ahead of his time. There's something so satisfying about his music. It's beautifully organized and emotional at the same time. I find it highly exciting.

The encore is the short piece after the program has finished, where the performer brings out something that the audience doesn't expect.