Leopold Stokowski

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

“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.”

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

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

“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?”

“Hissing is a criticism, not an insult.”