Itzhak Perlman Quotes

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Itzhak Perlman

Profession : Musician

Birth : August 31, 1945

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

Itzhak Perlman

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

Itzhak Perlman

I listen to kids play a lot.

Itzhak Perlman

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

Itzhak Perlman

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!

Itzhak Perlman

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.

Itzhak Perlman

Sometimes you get from the mouth of kids wonderful things.

Itzhak Perlman

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

Itzhak Perlman

That makes classical music work, the ability to improvise.

Itzhak Perlman

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.

Itzhak Perlman

Preparing for a future in music is an expensive proposition.

Itzhak Perlman

The most important thing to do is really listen.

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.

Itzhak Perlman

This young wine may have a lot of tannins now, but in five or 10 years it is going to be spectacular, despite the fact that right now it tastes like crude oil. You know this is how it is supposed to taste at this stage of development.

Itzhak Perlman

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

Itzhak Perlman

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.

Itzhak Perlman

I love to work with young kids.

Itzhak Perlman

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.

Itzhak Perlman

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.

Itzhak Perlman

When you are 8 or 9, you should have a childhood. You should have adolescence. You should go through everything in a normal way.

Itzhak Perlman