Quotes by Virgil Thomson

Falsely conceived and rather clumsily executed crooked folklore and halfway opera.
– Virgil Thomson
I don't care what other critics say, I only hope to be played.
– Virgil Thomson
I don't go around regretting things that don't happen.
– Virgil Thomson
I don't have to worry No matter what they do to it, it works.
– Virgil Thomson
I let her alone and when she got that finished she left me alone. We trusted each other.
– Virgil Thomson
I look at you and I write down what I hear.
– Virgil Thomson
I never learned to verbalize an abstract musical concept. No thank you. The whole point of being a serious musician is to avoid verbalization whenever you can.
– Virgil Thomson
I said to my friends that if I was going to starve, I might as well starve where the food is good.
– Virgil Thomson
I seem to write an opera about every 20 years; if you live long enough you can write four operas. I finished my third in 1970.
– Virgil Thomson
I thought of myself as a species of knight errant attacking dragons single-handedly and rescuing musical virtue in distress.
– Virgil Thomson
I've never known a musician who regretted being one. Whatever deceptions life may have in store for you, music itself is not going to let you down.
– Virgil Thomson
In Paris, you learn wit, in London you learn to crush your social rivals, and in Florence you learn poise.
– Virgil Thomson
Let your mind alone, and see what happens.
– Virgil Thomson
Musicians own music because music owns them.
– Virgil Thomson
Reviewing music or reviewing anything is a writing job. It's nice if you are experienced in the field you are writing about, but writing is what you are doing.
– Virgil Thomson
The description and explanation is the best part of music reviewing. There is such a thing, and you know it too, as a gift for judgment. If you have it, you can say anything you like. If you haven't got it, you don't know you haven't got it. And everything you say will be held against you.
– Virgil Thomson
They look better than we do; they can wear all colors on stage. We're sort of oyster-colored.
– Virgil Thomson
Try a thing you haven't done three times. Once, to get over the fear of doing it. Twice, to learn how to do it. And a third time to figure out whether you like it or not.
– Virgil Thomson
You explain how it went, and as far as you can figure out how it got that way.
– Virgil Thomson