Andre Previn Quotes & Sayings

“I don't even have a cell phone. I don't know how they work.”

“People who don't do jazz think it's black magic. But really, it's just a matter of getting used to it. It's fun to gamble. The trick is not to fall back on the things you've done before.”

“When I composed, I heard my music played by the orchestra within days of completion of the score. No master at a conservatory, no matter how revered, can teach as much by verbal criticism as can a cold and analytical hearing of one's own music being played.”

“A Beethoven symphony should be rehearsed like chamber music, only for a lot more people.”

“I've had the healthy and sobering experience of constantly working with music that is invariably better than any performance of it can be.”

“I have a great many shortcomings, but writing for something on time has never bothered me.”

“Elliott Carter does not write the kind of music that the kids go off to school whistling.”

“I admire Elliott Carter endlessly. But I have no ambitions to emulate him.”

“John Williams is, without question, talented. He writes very good scores and very good melodies and all that.”

“When you're working with music that is invariably better than you are, it's difficult to become swell-headed.”