Kurt Masur
Kurt Masur
Kurt Masurwas a German conductor. Called "one of the last old-style maestros", he directed many of the principal orchestras of his era. He had a long career as the Kapellmeister of the Gewandhaus, and also served as music director of the New York Philharmonic...
NationalityGerman
ProfessionMusician
Date of Birth18 July 1927
CountryGermany
men trying taste
Since the composer has said everything, if you discover everything, it will be enough and you will be a happy man. Don't try to say it's your taste, and because of that you are changing this or that. And I must say this respect is still there.
symphony america pieces
In South America, I heard the 8th Symphony of Beethoven. And the young conductor thought, Beethoven must be heroic. But this is piece which shouldn't be heroic. And this was such a misunderstanding, such a deep misunderstanding.
beautiful play ideas
Very often, if I know the orchestra doesn't know a piece or it's a new piece, I have main ideas about it. But then we start to play and I never talk about places where they played so beautiful and so clear in the beginning that there is nothing to say.
mistake musical library
I worked on scores. I went to the musical library in Berlin which is very famous. I discovered that we had scores of Beethoven, printed scores of Beethoven, that are full of mistakes. Not the wrong or false notes, but the wrong dynamic, understandable things.
people guy musician
Even my family laughed at me because they thought this young guy who's always stuttering in front of other people should be in front of 100 musicians and talk to them and leading them.
thinking doctors age
At the age of 16, something happened with my finger and the doctor told me, you never can be a organist or pianist, so think about what you do with music.
shy musician helping
You know as I started as a shy young conductor, I always wanted to cooperate. To build up the musicians. To help them to be better than without a conductor. And sometimes young talented musicians have to be encouraged.
teacher messages firsts
The message of music was also the first thing what I learned from my first teacher. She was an organist too and she was very devoted to what she played, so she had a respect for every piece and she felt that she is not allowed to add something of her own.
enough young conductor
Young conductors who are confident enough, they very often have success.
play together orchestra
I always imagined that to bring an orchestra to play together is not enough for a conductor.
teacher school two
If every school would hire two more music teachers, we would need two fewer police officers.
church grew impressed instrument love major organ small
And I love the organ because I grew up in a small city, the organ was the major instrument in church which impressed me very strongly.
I never had the idea to be a conductor.
stars orchestra disaster
An orchestra full of stars can be a disaster.