Quote #21

'For some reason, people think that music must tell us only about the pinnacles of the human spirit, or at least about highly romantic villains. But there are very few heroes or villains. Most people are average, neither black nor white. They're grey. A dirty shade of grey.'

More from Dmitri Shostakovich

  1. ' Rimsky-Korsakov used to say that he refused to acknowledge any complaints from composers about their hard lot in life. He explained his p…
  2. 'When a man is in despair, it means that he still believes in something.'
  3. 'I always try to make myself as widely understood as possible; and if I don't succeed, I consider it my own fault.'
  4. 'I write music, it's performed. After all, my music says it all. It doesn't need historical and hysterical commentaries. In the long run, a…
  5. I think it is clear to everyone what happens in the Fifth. The rejoicing is forced, created under threat, as in Boris Godunov. It's as if s…
  6. 'What you have in your head, put it down on paper. The head is a fragile vessel.'
  7. Jewish folk music has made a most powerful impression on me. I never tire of delighting in it, it's multifaceted, it can appear to be happy…
  8. 'Every composer should be able to play his own compositions at the piano.'

All Dmitri Shostakovich quotes