42 Quotes by John Philip Sousa

  • Author John Philip Sousa
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    Any composer who is gloriously conscious that he is a composer must believe that he receives his inspiration from a source higher than himself.

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  • Author John Philip Sousa
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    American teachers have one indisputable advantage over foreign ones; they understand the American temperament and can judge its unevenness, its lights and its shadows.

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  • Author John Philip Sousa
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    I had found English audiences highly satisfactory. They are the best listeners in the world. Perhaps the music-lovers of some of our larger cities equal the English, but I do not believe they can be surpassed in that respect.

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  • Author John Philip Sousa
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    There is much modern music that is better adapted to a wind combination than to a string, although for obvious reasons originally scored for an orchestra. If in such cases the interpretation is equal to the composition the balance of a wind combination is more satisfying.

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  • Author John Philip Sousa
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    The movements which I make I cannot possibly repress because, at the time, I am actually the idea I am interpreting, and naturally I picture my players and auditors as in accord with me. I know, of course, that my mannerisms have been widely discussed.

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  • Author John Philip Sousa
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    I am happy now, to recall that I was no only his son but his companion, and whenever there was a hunting expedition or any other pleasure, I was always with him.

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  • Author John Philip Sousa
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    To the average mind popular music would mean compositions vulgarly conceived and commonplace in their treatment. That is absolutely false.

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