Quotes by Virgil Thomson

About Virgil Thomson:

Virgil Thomson was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music. He has been described as a modernist, a neoclassicist, a composer of "an Olympian blend of humanity and detachment" whose "expressive voice was always carefully muted" until his late opera Lord Byron which, in contrast to all his previous work, exhibited an emotional content that rises to "moments of real passion", and a neoromantic.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Let your mind alone, and see what happens.

Virgil Thomson

I said to my friends that if I was going to starve, I might as well starve where the food is good.

Virgil Thomson

I don't care what other critics say, I only hope to be played.

Virgil Thomson

Try a thing you haven't done three times. Once, to get over the fear of doing it. Twice, to learn how to do it. And a third time to figure out whether you like it or not.

Virgil Thomson

I've never known a musician who regretted being one. Whatever deceptions life may have in store for you, music itself is not going to let you down.

Virgil Thomson

I look at you and I write down what I hear.

Virgil Thomson

Musicians own music because music owns them.

Virgil Thomson

Reviewing music or reviewing anything is a writing job. It's nice if you are experienced in the field you are writing about, but writing is what you are doing.

Virgil Thomson

You explain how it went, and as far as you can figure out how it got that way.

Virgil Thomson

I don't go around regretting things that don't happen.

Virgil Thomson

I don't have to worry No matter what they do to it, it works.

Virgil Thomson

In Paris, you learn wit, in London you learn to crush your social rivals, and in Florence you learn poise.

Virgil Thomson

I never learned to verbalize an abstract musical concept. No thank you. The whole point of being a serious musician is to avoid verbalization whenever you can.

Virgil Thomson

Author Bio

  • NameVirgil Thomson
  • DescriptionAmerican composer
  • BornNovember 25, 1896
  • DiedSeptember 30, 1989
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionConductor; Composer; Music Critic
  • WorksLord Byron
  • AwardsGuggenheim Fellowship; National Medal Of Arts