Quotes2023-01-01T11:22:00-08:00

Chamber Music Quotes

“When I listen to a Beethoven string quartet, it makes me feel as if I am eavesdropping on a conversation between four intelligent people.”

Johann Wolfgang von Geothe (German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic)

“In its beginnings, music was merely chamber music, meant to be listened to in a small space by a small audience.”

Gustav Mahler (Composer, former Director of Vienna Court Opera and New York Philharmonic)

“I think you can tell a lot from the lives of many of today’s great soloists. Their participation and gravitation towards chamber music is ever increasing.”

David Finckel (Co-Artistic Director, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Centre, 2004-2018)

“Once a month I play with a chamber music quartet. I play almost no solo music anymore because I so enjoy the interaction. The members of my quartet have become some of my best friends and so I really enjoy it now in ways that I didn’t before.”

Condoleezza Rice (former USA Secretary of State and National Security Advisor)

“The chamber music repertoire is so vast that if one is genuinely curious about music, the art of listening, understanding and responding to a score, the elementary skills and requirements of chamber works are easily applicable to that of any solo playing.”

Wu Han (Co-Artistic Director, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Centre, 2004-2018)

“Even though I started playing the violin when I was four, my early chamber music experiences helped build a strong foundation for my solo work, as all music is a rich language and dialogue that is shared on stage, no matter what the size of the ensemble.”

Anne Akiko-Meyers (concert violinist)