I learned early on how to make best use of my time. You know, quality is more important than quantity when it comes to practice time. And unfortunately, I still need to practice a lot. – Joshua Bell
Being a director or a conductor is a balance of many things. And to do it right is a very difficult tightrope to walk. I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s really no way to be one hundred percent popular as conductor. – Joshua Bell
I hate YouTube sometimes because people put up things of mine that were never meant for consumption and also because of some of the comments people write about my videos. – Joshua Bell
You might think that after 40 years of practice you wouldn’t need to practice anymore, but sadly it doesn’t work that way. You still have to keep chugging away and perfecting. – Joshua Bell
I think, as an artist, it’s very important to continue to be challenged and feel challenged all the time. – Joshua Bell
I mean, the great secret is that an orchestra can actually play without a conductor at all. Of course, a great conductor will have a concept and will help them play together and unify them. – Joshua Bell
As my career has gone on, I guess I’ve become more well known. I’m playing to fuller halls in general, which is a nice feeling. When you’re doing that, you’re going to have a certain number of people who are not just the hardcore classical fanatics, and this makes me very happy. – Joshua Bell
The great secret is that an orchestra can actually play without a conductor at all. Of course, a great conductor will have a concept and will help them play together and unify them. But there are conductors that actually inhibit the players from playing with each other properly. – Joshua Bell
I think music should be the basis of an education, not just something you do once a week. – Joshua Bell
It’s interesting about classical music that the more you hear something, the more you get to know a piece, the better and better it gets, period, which is just an interesting thing on it. – Joshua Bell
I always have loved the Stradivarius. My teacher, Josef Gingold, he had a Stradivarius. As a treat, he would put it under my chin and let me play a few notes, and I remember that feeling of the overtones, the complexity of the sound. It’s like a great wine. – Joshua Bell
When Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony was premiered, after the second movement, they clapped so much that they had the repeat the second movement and do it again. – Joshua Bell
It’s endless, the amount of things that music touches on that can help kids grow that are very, very practical. – Joshua Bell
When you play for ticket-holders, you are already validated. I have no sense that I need to be accepted. I’m already accepted. – Joshua Bell
So many times, I’ve seen conductors that, every time they have a thought, they stop the orchestra and say it, and I can see the orchestra rolling their eyes and saying, ‘Oh, God, he stopped again.’ So there’s a technique to rehearsing. – Joshua Bell
There’s nothing more frustrating than seeing a conductor say, ‘Play softer,’ as they’re waving their hands in huge gestures. – Joshua Bell
Good conductors know when to push and when to lay back. I’ve known so many great conductors that I’m still doing what I can to learn the craft of this role. – Joshua Bell
If I read every comment on my YouTube videos, I’d go crazy with people that are saying negative things. – Joshua Bell
We like to categorize things into showy things and deep things, you know, and things that are high music – important music – and shallow music. And I think that’s dangerous, because there’s often a mix of both. – Joshua Bell
I know how to deal with jet lag, and I know just how much rest I need and when I need to take naps. When you walk on stage, you need your brain working at its highest and most fully-functioning, so it’s not always easy, but I sort of figure it out. – Joshua Bell