Georg Solti

Hungarian-British conductor (1912–1997)

Sir Georg Solti KBE (21 October 19125 September 1997) was a world-renowned Hungarian-born British orchestral and operatic conductor.

In my orchestra, I hate slackness, idle talk and lost time. I always hated this and still hate it. But I can achieve much more when I am quiet and not shouting.

Quotes

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Conductors by John L. Holmes (1988) pp 256-261 ISBN 0-575-04088-2

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  • From Toscanini I learnt the essential and desperate seriousness of making music.
  • Everyone says you have to be a specialist, and if you conduct Wagner you cannot conduct Mozart - this is nonsense.
  • Fight the tendency to become complacent and do one kind of music - that is the death of a musician.
  • In my orchestra, I hate slackness, idle talk and lost time. I always hated this and still hate it. But I can achieve much more when I am quiet and not shouting.
  • Between the two men, somewhere, a truth is lying, and that is what I try to find.
    • Arguing that Toscanini and Furtwangler both went to extremes.

Interview, Charlie Rose, February 28, 1995

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  • Charlie Rose: What's your favorite symphony in the world now? Sir-
  • Georg Solti: There isn't any. There isn't any for me. This is a question for amateurs. Amateurs have favorite symphonies. A pro never have favorites. The favorite is what I am doing now, today. That's my favorite.
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