Thomas Beecham

A musicologist is a man who can read music but can't hear it.

Composers should write tunes that chauffeurs and errand boys can whistle.

I have just been all round the world and have formed a very poor opinion of it.

All the arts in America are a gigantic racket run by unscrupulous men for unhealthy women.

The English may not like music, but they absolutely love the noise it makes.

There are two golden rules for an orchestra: start together and finish together. The public doesn't give a damn what goes on in between.

Great music is that which penetrates the ear with facility and leaves the memory with difficulty. Magical music never leaves the memory.

Brass bands are all very well in their place - outdoors and several miles away.

No operatic star has yet died soon enough for me.

Movie music is noise... even more painful than my sciatica.

The British like any kind of music so long as it is loud.

The function of music is to release us from the tyranny of conscious thought.