---
title: "1 Say Play Quotes By Nico Muhly"
description: "1 Say Play quotes by Nico Muhly. Plus more from Nico Muhly and more Say Play sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e74/nico-muhly-28276_composer_as-a-composer-you-want-to-tell-musicians_1174947.jpg"
---

> [As a composer you want to tell musicians two completely contradictory things. You want to say, "Play exactly what I wrote, but bring your own thing to it." In a lot of ways they feel like opposites, but in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nico-muhly/as-a-composer-you-want-to-tell-musicians-two-completely-contradictory/)

[Nico Muhly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nico-muhly/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e74/nico-muhly-28276_composer_as-a-composer-you-want-to-tell-musicians_1174947.jpg)

## More by Nico Muhly

> [In really fancy restaurants they never point to the bathroom, they just gesture toward the bathroom or they'll lead you to the bathroom. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nico-muhly/in-really-fancy-restaurants-they-never-point-to-the-bathroom-they/)

[Nico Muhly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nico-muhly/)

> [For me the best kind of film music is liturgical music. Liturgical music is essentially a million scores for the same film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nico-muhly/for-me-the-best-kind-of-film-music-is-liturgical-music-liturgical/)

[Nico Muhly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nico-muhly/)

> [Riding a horse is a relationship with a foreign creature, and with musicians it's a similar thing: "OK, I'm going to put something on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nico-muhly/riding-a-horse-is-a-relationship-with-a-foreign-creature-and-with/)

[Nico Muhly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nico-muhly/)

> [Every couple weeks I'll listen to Sibelius's Seventh Symphony, just to check in, to see how it's doing. It's doing OK.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nico-muhly/every-couple-weeks-i-ll-listen-to-sibelius-s-seventh-symphony-just-to/)

[Nico Muhly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nico-muhly/)

> [Because I had been in conservatory for so long, I was jealous of my friends in bands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nico-muhly/because-i-had-been-in-conservatory-for-so-long-i-was-jealous-of-my/)

[Nico Muhly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nico-muhly/)

> [As a composer you want to tell musicians two completely contradictory things. You want to say, "Play exactly what I wrote, but bring your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nico-muhly/as-a-composer-you-want-to-tell-musicians-two-completely-contradictory/)

[Nico Muhly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nico-muhly/)

> [My urge, when I go to the store, is to buy everything. And it's the same when I'm composing. My first instinct is basically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nico-muhly/my-urge-when-i-go-to-the-store-is-to-buy-everything-and-it-s-the-same/)

[Nico Muhly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nico-muhly/)

> [Whenever I get asked to write orchestra music or music that is for a lot of players, I try to make it a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nico-muhly/whenever-i-get-asked-to-write-orchestra-music-or-music-that-is-for-a/)

[Nico Muhly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nico-muhly/)

> [I'm pretty clear about what I'm capable of doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nico-muhly/i-m-pretty-clear-about-what-i-m-capable-of-doing/)

[Nico Muhly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nico-muhly/)

> [Even more than in the concert hall, in church there are things you can and cannot do, just out of respect. You would never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nico-muhly/even-more-than-in-the-concert-hall-in-church-there-are-things-you-can/)

[Nico Muhly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nico-muhly/)

> [The score is doing a lot of work. It's like Wagner. It's like a yak carrying people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nico-muhly/the-score-is-doing-a-lot-of-work-it-s-like-wagner-it-s-like-a-yak/)

[Nico Muhly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nico-muhly/)

> [There's a lot of violence in Beethoven not explicitly suggested by the notes or in his markings, necessarily. There's just a way that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nico-muhly/there-s-a-lot-of-violence-in-beethoven-not-explicitly-suggested-by/)

[Nico Muhly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nico-muhly/)

> [Composition is interesting because, in a sense, you always have to let it go. Unless you're a true composer/performer, you're always sending a PDF…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nico-muhly/composition-is-interesting-because-in-a-sense-you-always-have-to-let/)

[Nico Muhly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nico-muhly/)

> [With chamber music you can get people who work on the music for months, rehearsing it every day for a couple of hours, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nico-muhly/with-chamber-music-you-can-get-people-who-work-on-the-music-for/)

[Nico Muhly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nico-muhly/)

> [I think my generation is a lost generation in a way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nico-muhly/i-think-my-generation-is-a-lost-generation-in-a-way/)

[Nico Muhly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nico-muhly/)

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