Quote #18

'Try everything once except folk dancing and incest'. (This is also attributed to Sir Arnold Bax, George S. Kaufman, Oscar Wilde and Winston Churchill.)

More from Thomas Beecham

  1. On Beethoven's Seventh Symphony: 'What can you do with it? It's like a lot of yaks jumping about.'
  2. 'Brass bands are all very well in their place - outdoors and several miles away'.
  3. Of Beethoven - 'Beethoven's last quartets were written by a deaf man and should only be listened to by a deaf man'
  4. 'I have just been all round the world and have formed a very poor opinion of it'.
  5. After conducting an orchestra through a piece of music - 'Bass Trombone, you are out of tune.' [a voice comes from the orchestra saying] 'S…
  6. When asked why only male composers appeared in his repertoire, he said 'There are no women composers, never have been, and possibly never w…
  7. On a grave stone is written: 'Here lies a fantastic organist and an excellent musician.' [Beecham then comments...] 'What, both in the same…
  8. 'Here are two golden rules for an orchestra: start together and finish together. The public doesn't give a damn what goes on in between.'

All Thomas Beecham quotes