106 Quotes by Hilary Hahn

I don't think there's such a difference between older and newer music as there is between one composer and another.

Sometimes, I'm not sure why I wind up doing some of the things I do.

I never felt like a prodigy. For one thing, the root of the word is rather monstrous, literally. I never really felt like a monster or anything abnormal, because I always had a lot of different interests. But kids tend to focus on one thing, and for me it was violin.

You couldn't be performing if it weren't for the audience. I appreciate them being there. So why not applaud them? They took time out of their schedule to show up and sit in the concert hall and be part of the experience.

In music you can find your own niche. You can do what you want to do. There is really no job description. You have to find your own way, and that's fun.

It's fine with me if people want to applaud between movements of a concerto. It doesn't bother me - it's part of performance experience.

I always feel I have a long way to go in my playing and my music.

Sometimes if the point of a piece of music is to open a conversation with other people, it's really hard to open that conversation if you're telling people exactly what to do or feel or think.

As a young performer, what you need to be doing is building your technique and musicality, not promoting your abilities - unless you're ready to take on all that will result from such an approach.