James Levine Quotes

• A lot of people get impatient with the pace of change.

  James Levine

  Change, People, Pace

  72 Copy quote

• Art has never been a popularity contest.

  James Levine

  Art, Popularity, Contests

  8 Copy quote

• Fate is a misplaced retreat. Many people rationalize an unexplained event as fate and shrug their shoulders when it occurs. But that is not what fate is. The world operates as a series of circles that are invisible, for they extend to the upper air. Fate is where these circles cut to earth. Since we cannot see them, do not know their content, and have no sense of their width, it is impossible to predict when these cuts will slice into our reality. When this happens, we call it fate. Fate is not a chance event but one that is inevitable, we are simply blind to its nature and time.

  James Levine

  Cutting, Fate, Reality

  8 Copy quote

• I grew up in an era where an orchestra was like a treasure chest.

  James Levine

  Treasure, Orchestra, Eras

  "Staying power". www.theguardian.com. November 17, 2000.

  14 Copy quote

• It was just that we had this phenomenal honeymoon relationship that just kept on going.

  James Levine

  Dating, Honeymoon, Phenomenal

  29 Copy quote

• Its just that, when the orchestra look at me, I want them to see a completely involved person who reflects what we rehearsed, and whose function is to make it possible for them to do it.

  James Levine

  Looks, Orchestra, Want

  7 Copy quote

• I thought I'd write one book and the world would change overnight

  James Levine

  Book, Writing, World

  4 Copy quote

• There is no relationship between the gestures and what an orchestra will do.

  James Levine

  Orchestra, Gestures

  7 Copy quote

• At my age, you are naturally inclined towards teaching.

  James Levine

  Teaching, Age

  4 Copy quote

• Everybody blames the culture without taking responsibility.

  James Levine

  Responsibility, Culture, Blame

  4 Copy quote

• We're in the midst of an evolution, not a revolution.

  James Levine

  Revolution, Evolution, Midst

  7 Copy quote

• I was lucky that I met the right mentors and teachers at the right moment

  James Levine

  Teacher, Mentor, Lucky

  6 Copy quote

• So, the total number of hours spent on the stuff you have to do to take care of a family, working and caring for stuff at home, the total number of hours is actually about the same for mothers and fathers.

  James Levine

  Inspiring, Mothers Day, Father

  6 Copy quote

• The Steinway pianos of today are the finest I have ever played.

  James Levine

  Piano, Today, Finest

  4 Copy quote

• I have a big problem with conductors who gesture a lot.

  James Levine

  Gestures, Problem, Bigs

  8 Copy quote

• As major orchestras around the world are gripped in various kinds of crises and upheaval, we need to be sure that we are bringing up this new generation.

  James Levine

  Needs, Generations, Upheaval

  7 Copy quote

• And so, little by little, I gradually divested myself of pretty nearly all of the guest conducting I used to do, because I was at the same time working in the places like the Met, where I could work in this sort of depth.

  James Levine

  Depth, Guests, Littles

  8 Copy quote

• Employee fathers need to step up to the plate and put their family needs on the table.

  James Levine

  Boyfriend, Father, Needs

  8 Copy quote

• Working mothers do an hour more per day than working fathers do and working mothers do on average an hour more per day with the kids than working fathers do.

  James Levine

  Inspiring, Mothers Day, Father

  4 Copy quote

• Most people treat the office manual the way they treat a software manual. They never look at it.

  James Levine

  Work, People, Office

  13 Copy quote

• But the important thing is to lie down and fall asleep. That little nap means you wake up fresh again and can continue.

  James Levine

  Lying, Fall, Mean

  12 Copy quote

• Second, if you're the boss, just because they don't ask doesn't mean your employees don't have needs.

  James Levine

  Mean, Boss, Needs

  9 Copy quote

• More and more couples are having this negotiation or discussion, but I'm still amazed at the number who aren't and where the cultural norm sort of kicks in and they just assume that mom's got to be the one who stays home, not dad.

  James Levine

  Mom, Couple, Dad

  8 Copy quote

• We found that when people put this issue on the table, it turns out that men acknowledge the issue, and employers and employees can work out solutions just as working mothers do.

  James Levine

  Inspiring, Mothers Day, Men

  8 Copy quote

• I can imagine wanting to work with this ensemble and this company always.

  James Levine

  Ensemble, Imagine, Company

  7 Copy quote

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