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Favorite Quotes

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“All the arts we practice are apprenticeship. The big art is our life.” – Mary Caroline Richards, submitted by Karen Taylor Phoenix, Arizona 

“The thing with violin, what makes it my favorite instrument is that we create the notes, we create the music; it flows through us. We (the musicians) are as much the composer’s instruments as the violin itself.” – Zaid Habjoka, a devoted fan and violinist

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people
will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you
made them feel.” – Maya Angelou

“Men should not try to understand women for they are not to be understood, merely appreciated, enjoyed and loved.” – Evan Boyd Submitted by David L. Hall…a wise man

“All right, they’re on our left, they’re on our right, they’re in front of us, they’re behind us…they can’t get away this time.”  “We’re surrounded. That simplifies our problem.” – “Chesty” Puller – U.S. Marine Brigadier General

“As long as you haven’t gone past the pitch, there is still hope.” “Operas don’t go by time, they go by when they’re finished, just like baseball.”  “Do one thing well.”  “Many people claim to know me.”  “We practice for perfection so our mistakes are not as bad.” – Robert C. Lipsett Violin Professor, Colburn School, Aspen Festival

“One performance is worth three rehearsals.”  “You can always tell a Norwegian, but you can’t tell him much.” –  Bert Phillips, Philadelphia Orchestra cellist, Founder of Luzerne Music Center

“You can’t dream up confidence. Confidence is born of demonstrated ability.”
– Bill Parcells, football coach from book “No Limits” by Michael Phelps Bert Phillips

“Art,” said Picasso, “is a form of magic designed as a mediator between this strange hostile world and us.” – Pablo Picasso

“No good deed goes unpunished.”  “A dull life is no life.”  “Happy wife, happy life.”  “Don’t confuse me with the facts, my mind is already made up.”  “All success is based on failure, so if you are successful, you’ve just failed more than the next person.”  “A woman’s work is never done; a man’s work is never done if he has a woman to tell him what to do.” “What good’s a Dad if you can’t use him?”  “The only difference between men and boys is the size of their toys.”
Joke: “What’s the definition of an honest politician?” Answer: “When you buy him, he stays bought.”  – Laren Pitcairn, father

“It is not how many notes you play or how fast you can play them…. it is more important how you interpret those notes and how you can stir your listener’s emotions. If you can touch their hearts they will remember your performance forever.”
– Glenn Dicterow, Former Concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic

“The two hardest things in life are success and failure.”  “There is no happiness in life without discipline.”  “It is true when people say money does not buy happiness; but it does allow you to suffer in comfort!” Reverend Theodore Pitcairn, grandfather

A reporter once asked the question of the great violinist Jascha Heifetz:

“Mr. Heifetz, how much does luck have to do with the perfection of your performance?”
Heifetz: “You know, it’s funny, the more I practice, the luckier I get.”

“You always hear of the ‘delicate, sensitive violinist’” says Heifetz. “Well, I assure you that it takes the nerves of a bullfighter, the digestion of a peasant, the vitality of a nightclub hostess, the tact of a diplomat and the concentration of a Tibetan monk to lead the strenuous life of a concert violinist.” – Jascha Heifetz, violinist

“50% of something is better than 100% of nothing.” – Joel Strote, entertainment attorney & friend

“Eighty percent of success is showing up.” – Woody Allen

“Never argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.” – Bob Covino

“The Three Ingredients of Success:

1/3 Talent, 1/3 Character, and 1/3 Health.” (according to violinist Joseph Joachim)
– Eleonore Schoenfeld, beloved late Professor of Cello and third holder of the Gregor Piatagorsky Chair in Cello Performance at USC’s Thornton School of Music

“I’m conducting slowly because I don’t know the tempo.”  “Who’s sitting in that empty chair?” – Maestro Eugene Ormandy, conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra

“A mediocre ski vacation is better than a decent day at work.” – Micah Black, (Big Mountain Free Rider Movie Star)

“It’s like deja-vu all over again.”  “That restaurant’s no good, nobody goes there anymore, you can’t get a seat.”  After attending an opera for the first time: “Even the music was nice…” – Yogi Berra 

“Penny for your thoughts”  Cloakroom girl says to Mae West: Goodness what a beautiful ring! “Goodness had nothin’ to do with it honey.” – Mae West 

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Quotes Contributed from friends, family and fans

“Intention is the building block of the outcome.” – From the Spiritual Teacher, Jonah: submitted by Southwest Airlines Captain Wayne Holum

Bob Hope, My Favorite Spy (1951): “That dress does things for you. Doesn’t do me any harm, either.”  “When I look into a girl’s eyes, I can tell just what she thinks of me. It’s pretty discouraging, too.”  “It’s nights like these that drive men like me to women like you for nights like this.”

My Favorite Blonde (1942):  Madeline Carroll: “There’s no time to lose. Do you know what it feels like to be followed, hounded, and watched every second?” Bob Hope: “Well I used to, but now I pay cash for everything.” Carroll: “You have 3 hours between trains. Wouldn’t you like to go past my apartment house and drop me off?” Hope: “Drop you off? I sure would. How many stories is it?” – Contributed by William McEwen

“If you can’t do something great, at least do something.” – Tom Neal, family friend

“By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity. Another man’s, I mean.” – Mark Twain

“That person was being economical with the truth –  Mark Twain – contributed by Laren Pitcairn

“Any good history book is mainly just a long list of mistakes, complete with names and dates. It’s all very embarrassing.”
– A. Whitney Brown

“The greatness of America is that it produces exuberant geniuses like Louis Armstrong and Fred Astaire and Leonard Bernstein. We are meant to be a jazzy people who talk big and jump on the table and dance; we aren’t supposed to be dopey and glum and brood over old injuries.” – Garrison Keillor

“Never insult seven men when all you have is a six-shooter.”
Col. Potter, MASH – Contributed by William McEwen

¨It is a human duty to bring joy to others instead of grief¨….In spanish is: ¨Es deber humano causar placer en vez de pena¨ Love and be loved. By José Martí contributed by Daniel Noa, Havana, Cuba

¨Lost time is never found again ¨
¨Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils¨
¨Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity. By Benjamin Franklin contributed by Daniel Noa, Havana, Cuba

“To experience gratitude and not express it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” – Dirk Junge, cousin

“Life is short, but a short attention span will make it even shorter.” -Robert Wayne Padgett

“It doesn’t matter how you learned, all that counts is that you play.”  “Remember to have fun with your instrument. We don’t work the violin, gripe the violin, or wrestle the violin. The verb we use is PLAY the violin.” – Arthur W. Haule, III www.ViolinStudent.com

“Do not waste your life with what you do not feel.” – Feodor Pitcairn, uncle

“Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” – Calvin Coolidge

“Ask yourself whether you are happy and you cease to be so.” – John Stuart Mill – Contributed by Salta, Whidbey Island

“It’s not hard to tell professional musicians from the amateurs. The amateurs live in larger houses.”
by M. Aumann – Contributed by Don Malpass

“What’s the difference between a musician and a large pizza? The pizza can feed a family of four.”
Oboist Blair Tindall, who makes no claim to having originated it. – Contributed by Don Malpass

“Never, never, never quit.” – Winston Churchill (Contributed by Barbara Stankova, Ms. Pitcairn’s Assistant

“Only trust in yourself and your horse” (…or violin) – Serbian Proverb (Contributed by Vladimir and Robert Stefanovich, Fans)

“Wagner’s music is better than it sounds.” – Edgar Wilson Nye, quoted in Mark Twain’s Autobiography, 1924

“Music is the only language in which you cannot say a mean or sarcastic thing.” – John Erskine (1879 – 1951)

“My music is best understood by children and animals.” – Igor Stravinsky (1882 – 1971)

“Hell is full of musical amateurs.” – George Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950) – Contributed by Stephen Landry, Fan

“Never complain, never explain.”
– Henry Ford – Contributed by Robert Lipsett