Leopold Stokowski

“A painter paints his pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence.”

“Critics can be disastrous. They can be destructive.”

“The chief obstacle to the progress of the human race is the human race.”

“Why is it that the public will accept a fake in a picture, but not a fake in a concert?”

“There are two golden rules for an orchestra: start together and finish together. The public doesn't give a damn what goes on in between.”

“When I have a score, I have inside me the sound of the score. And then when I am on the podium... my task is to bring out that sound.”

“I never use a score when I conduct. I know the score.”

“Competition is a good thing. It forces us to do our best.”

“I am not a box-office conductor. I am a musician.”

“Hissing is a criticism, not an insult.”