--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't think too much about the past…" description: "\"I don't think too much about the past when I am actually playing, I prefer to concentrate on the present. The performance of a piece, no matter how lon..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/david-finckel-31491_alive_i-don-t-think-too-much-about-the-past-wh_1351234.jpg" --- # I don't think too much about the past when I am actually… ![“I don't think too much about the past when I am actually playing, I prefer to concentrate on the present. The performance of a piece, no matter how long ago or where it was written, is always a new production, something that comes alive in the present. And it doesn't matter if the piece was…” quote by David Finckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/david-finckel-31491_alive_i-don-t-think-too-much-about-the-past-wh_1351234.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/david-finckel-31491_alive_i-don-t-think-too-much-about-the-past-wh_1351234.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/david-finckel-31491_alive_i-don-t-think-too-much-about-the-past-wh_1351234.jpg) > “I don't think too much about the past when I am actually playing, I prefer to concentrate on the present. The performance of a piece, no matter how long ago or where it was written, is always a new production, something that comes alive in the present. And it doesn't matter if the piece was written two or three hundred years ago if it is alive in us.” [David Finckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-finckel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Focus on the present transforms each performance into a fresh, living experience, regardless of the work's age. **In simple terms:** Live in the moment during performance. Key Takeaway Embrace present-moment focus. Themes mindfulness performance creativity Mood concentrated engaged Type musical inspirational When to use this quote - concerts - rehearsals - solo practice - recording sessions Key Concepts present-moment awareness artistic authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How does present focus affect your interpretation? - What techniques keep you grounded? A Different Perspective Even with focus, past training influences present execution. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Hundred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hundred/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Live in the present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-in-the-present/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-ago/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past Actually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-actually-1673373/) [Performance Piece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performance-piece-1699618/) [Performances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performances/) [Pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieces/) [Present Performance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-performance-4558996/) [Productions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productions/) [Think Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-past/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Too much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-much/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-ago/) ## Related quotes > [There's a sort of romanticizing of the past. When you actually think about the past, you know it's a little different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/there-s-a-sort-of-romanticizing-of-the-past-when-you-actually-think/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) > [Performance's only life is in the present. Performance cannot be saved, recorded, documented, or otherwise participate in the circulation of representations of representations: once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-phelan/performance-s-only-life-is-in-the-present-performance-cannot-be-saved/) [Peggy Phelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-phelan/) > [I just produced Criminal, this remake of Nine Queens, and one of the things that appealed to me about Nine Queens is that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-soderbergh/i-just-produced-criminal-this-remake-of-nine-queens-and-one-of-the/) [Steven Soderbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-soderbergh/) > [The conception, composition, practice, and performance of a piece of music can blossom in a single moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-nachmanovitch/the-conception-composition-practice-and-performance-of-a-piece-of/) [Stephen Nachmanovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-nachmanovitch/) > [“Your past doesn't actually exist. What you think is your past is a tiny blip of electricity in your brain happening right now. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-pearce/your-past-doesn-t-actually-exist-what-you-think-is-your-past-is-a/) [Dan Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-pearce/) > [Filing is concerned with the past; anything you actually need to see again has to do with the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-whitehorn/filing-is-concerned-with-the-past-anything-you-actually-need-to-see/) [Katharine Whitehorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-whitehorn/) > [You have to let things go from the past to actually move on to your future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica/you-have-to-let-things-go-from-the-past-to-actually-move-on-to-your/) [Jessica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica/) > [The more images I gathered from the past, I said, the more unlikely it seemed to me that the past had actually happened in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-more-images-i-gathered-from-the-past-i-said-the-more-unlikely-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The past actually happened. History is what someone took the time to write down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-whitney-brown/the-past-actually-happened-history-is-what-someone-took-the-time-to/) [A. Whitney Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-whitney-brown/) > [The past actually happened but history is only what someone wrote down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-past-actually-happened-but-history-is-only-what-someone-wrote-down/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Of course I think of the past and of Paris, what else is there to remember?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/of-course-i-think-of-the-past-and-of-paris-what-else-is-there-to/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [Sometimes I think my past life was unrealized. I met a tragic end - it might have been a car over a cliff. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-ebersole/sometimes-i-think-my-past-life-was-unrealized-i-met-a-tragic-end-it/) [Christine Ebersole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-ebersole/) > [To dwell in the here and now does not mean you never think about the past or responsibly plan for the future. The idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-dwell-in-the-here-and-now-does-not-mean-you-never-think-about-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It is a mistake to think that the past is dead. Nothing that has ever happened is quite without influence at this moment. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/it-is-a-mistake-to-think-that-the-past-is-dead-nothing-that-has-ever/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [Every day gives us a new chance not to think about past,to do something new.bt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/every-day-gives-us-a-new-chance-not-to-think-about-past-to-do/) [Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/) ## More by David Finckel > [We all know that there are many people that can play the instrument perfectly today, up and down with technical perfection, but does the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-finckel/we-all-know-that-there-are-many-people-that-can-play-the-instrument/) [David Finckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-finckel/) > [Beginning in the nineteenth century, with performers like Franz Liszt, were musicians who were able to excite an audience and communicate on a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-finckel/beginning-in-the-nineteenth-century-with-performers-like-franz-liszt/) [David Finckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-finckel/) > [I think you can tell a lot from the lives of many of today's great soloists. Their participation and gravitation towards chamber music is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-finckel/i-think-you-can-tell-a-lot-from-the-lives-of-many-of-today-s-great/) [David Finckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-finckel/) > [The pieces that have survived, the ones that we all love, were not all popular in their time. Just look at Beethoven's late string…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-finckel/the-pieces-that-have-survived-the-ones-that-we-all-love-were-not-all/) [David Finckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-finckel/) > [When I finally got together with Rostropovich as a student, he was very focused, almost entirely focused on the music itself, on what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-finckel/when-i-finally-got-together-with-rostropovich-as-a-student-he-was/) [David Finckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-finckel/) > [If I were to run around the world playing just the cello concertos - and believe me, I love playing them - I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-finckel/if-i-were-to-run-around-the-world-playing-just-the-cello-concertos/) [David Finckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-finckel/) > [Being an artist and a musician, I have witnessed the previous generation taking the art form, not as a way of making a living,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-finckel/being-an-artist-and-a-musician-i-have-witnessed-the-previous/) [David Finckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-finckel/) > [A lot of my musical education was done simply by listening. If you really want to excel on your instrument, it's almost impossible to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-finckel/a-lot-of-my-musical-education-was-done-simply-by-listening-if-you/) [David Finckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-finckel/) > [I would say that for the younger musicians, technical proficiency is necessary and a given these days. But the study and the way you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-finckel/i-would-say-that-for-the-younger-musicians-technical-proficiency-is/) [David Finckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-finckel/) > [Even if you are a pianist, your concerto repertoire is very limited compared to what your chamber repertoire would be if you were a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-finckel/even-if-you-are-a-pianist-your-concerto-repertoire-is-very-limited/) [David Finckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-finckel/) > [For Rostropovich, every single note that he played had a special kind of human meaning behind it. And this was something that he expressed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-finckel/for-rostropovich-every-single-note-that-he-played-had-a-special-kind/) [David Finckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-finckel/) > [Our interpretations through the years and generations have always changed, but the emotions, ideas, and the thoughts of the composers are still with us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-finckel/our-interpretations-through-the-years-and-generations-have-always/) [David Finckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-finckel/) > [The zenith of virtuosity, a violinist like Jascha Heifetz, the supernatural in a pianist like Vladimir Horowitz, these are performers who were so idiosyncratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-finckel/the-zenith-of-virtuosity-a-violinist-like-jascha-heifetz-the/) [David Finckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-finckel/) > [The realm of classical music is so vast - not only in terms of style but of era, age and the purposes for which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-finckel/the-realm-of-classical-music-is-so-vast-not-only-in-terms-of-style/) [David Finckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-finckel/) > [I think one of the most wonderful things we can do as performers is to remind audiences that they can still relate to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-finckel/i-think-one-of-the-most-wonderful-things-we-can-do-as-performers-is/) [David Finckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-finckel/) [Explore all 16 David Finckel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-finckel/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't think too much about the past when I am actually playing, I prefer to concentrate on the present. The performance of a piece, no matter how long ago or where it was written, is always a new production, something that comes alive in the present. 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