Itzhak Perlman

“To be a musician is a calling, and it's something that I feel that I'm meant to do.”

“The bow is the soul of the violin.”

“If you're not making a lot of mistakes, you're not trying hard enough.”

“For me, I'm just trying to be a better musician every day.”

“What one must then do is develop into the musician one is meant to be.”

“Sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left.”

“When you play a violin piece, you are a storyteller, and you are telling a story.”

“You have to be a little bit of a dreamer to be a successful musician.”

“What we need in this world is a sense of humor. That's what we need.”

“The sound is in your head. It's not in the instrument.”

“We are all storytellers. We all live in a network of stories. There isn’t a stronger connection between people than storytelling.”

“You must be passionate, you must be dedicated, and you must be a little bit crazy.”

“Music is a way to tell a story.”

“Learn to listen. It's the most important thing that you can do, not only in music, but in life.”

“Technique is the ability to translate your ideas into sound through your instrument.”

“I look at my disability as a challenge, not a handicap.”

“The art of listening is more important than the art of playing.”