Nigel Kennedy Quotes (7 Quotes)

No, I'm not leaving the electric violin to Vanessa Mae. I'm still playing quite a lot of electric stuff. But only when there is a need for it. I like rocking out. And the electric violin is useful for many other things. It's useful for really good effects and it's also great for rocking out, with the drums and the bass, get into really heavy stuff. At the moment I'm not really doing any projects involving that thing.

Maybe it's egocentric or whatever, but when I'm playing Beethoven, Bach, Hendrix, or whoever it is, in the end, it just feels like my own music and I'm making it up as I'm going along.

If you're playing within your capability, what's the point? If you're not pushing your own technique to its own limits with the risk that it might just crumble at any moment, then you're not really doing your job.

I hate complacency. I play every gig as if it could be my last, then I enjoy it more than ever.

I don't think I am going to play in London with an orchestra until I can be assured that I'm getting adequate rehearsal, declares Kennedy. And if that's never, I won't play in London with an English orchestra. I'll have to bring one in from somewhere else.

The Guarneri is a fantastic instrument, both for playing classical music and for what I'm doing now. It's great for playing improvised music on, cause you get such great response. And for the same reason it's great for classical music too. It's a good violin.

I'm always improving and I want to get better and never hit a plateau. I find it an amazing adventure.