---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That’s why I like to listen to Schubert…"
description: "\"“That’s why I like to listen to Schubert while I’m driving. Like I said, it’s because all the performances are imperfect. A dense, artistic kind of imp..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe9/haruki-murakami-21_accumulation_that-s-why-i-like-to-listen-to-schubert_364713.jpg"
---

#  That’s why I like to listen to Schubert while I’m driving…

![“That’s why I like to listen to Schubert while I’m driving. Like I said, it’s because all the performances are imperfect. A dense, artistic kind of imperfection stimulates your consciousness, keeps you alert. If I listen to some utterly perfect performance of an utterly perfect piece while I’m…” quote by Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe9/haruki-murakami-21_accumulation_that-s-why-i-like-to-listen-to-schubert_364713.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe9/haruki-murakami-21_accumulation_that-s-why-i-like-to-listen-to-schubert_364713.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe9/haruki-murakami-21_accumulation_that-s-why-i-like-to-listen-to-schubert_364713.jpg)

> ““That’s why I like to listen to Schubert while I’m driving. Like I said, it’s because all the performances are imperfect. A dense, artistic kind of imperfection stimulates your consciousness, keeps you alert. If I listen to some utterly perfect performance of an utterly perfect piece while I’m driving, I might want to close my eyes and die right then and there. But listening to the D major, I can feel the limits of what humans are capable of—that a certain type of perfection can only be realized through a limitless accumulation of the imperfect. And personally, I find that encouraging.””

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Imperfect performances keep the mind alert, while flawless ones risk numbing awareness.

**In simple terms:** Imperfection stimulates consciousness.

Key Takeaway

Embrace flaws to stay engaged.

Themes

creativity awareness imperfection

Mood

reflective inspired

Type

philosophical artistic

When to use this quote

- driving
- listening to music
- creative work

Key Concepts

aesthetic theory human limits

Questions to Reflect On

- What imperfections inspire you?
- How does imperfection fuel creativity?

A Different Perspective

Perfectness can be oppressive if it removes challenge.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Accumulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accumulation/) [Artistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artistic/) [Capable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capable/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Dense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dense/) [Driving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driving/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Imperfect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imperfect/) [Imperfection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imperfection/) [Imperfection Stimulates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imperfection-stimulates-2703549/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Limitless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limitless/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Listen Schubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listen-schubert-3340875/) [Listening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listening/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Perfect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect/) [Perfection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfection/) [Performances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performances/) [Performances Imperfect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performances-imperfect-2703548/) [Pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieces/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Schubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schubert/) [Schubert Driving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schubert-driving-3340876/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Type](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/type/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/)

## Related quotes

> [“Like I said, it’s because all the performances are imperfect. A dense, artistic kind of imperfection stimulates your consciousness, keeps you alert. If I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/like-i-said-it-s-because-all-the-performances-are-imperfect-a-dense/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“A dense, artistic kind of imperfection stimulates your consciousness, keeps you alert. If I listen to some utterly perfect performance of an utterly perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-mukarami/a-dense-artistic-kind-of-imperfection-stimulates-your-consciousness/)

[Haruki Mukarami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-mukarami/)

> [I was thirty-seven then, strapped in my seat as the huge 747 plunged through dense cloud cover on approach to the Hamburg airport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-was-thirty-seven-then-strapped-in-my-seat-as-the-huge-747-plunged/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [Salieri was a pupil of Gluck. He was born in Italy in 1750 and died in Vienna in 1825. He left Italy when he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecilia-bartoli/salieri-was-a-pupil-of-gluck-he-was-born-in-italy-in-1750-and-died-in/)

[Cecilia Bartoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-bartoli/)

> [Brahms believed that there was no need to publish absolutely everything that Schubert ever wrote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-fischer-dieskau/brahms-believed-that-there-was-no-need-to-publish-absolutely/)

[Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-fischer-dieskau/)

> [A Schubert song, the A-major chord at the opening of Wagner's 'Lohengrin' - such incredible beauty is a mystery, the divinity of music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gian-carlo-menotti/a-schubert-song-the-a-major-chord-at-the-opening-of-wagner-s/)

[Gian Carlo Menotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gian-carlo-menotti/)

> [In his larger forms, Schubert is a wanderer. He likes to move at the edge of the precipice, and does so with the assurance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-brendel/in-his-larger-forms-schubert-is-a-wanderer-he-likes-to-move-at-the/)

[Alfred Brendel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-brendel/)

> [Mozart is a garden, Schubert is a forest in light and shade, but Beethoven is a mountain range.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artur-schnabel/mozart-is-a-garden-schubert-is-a-forest-in-light-and-shade-but/)

[Artur Schnabel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artur-schnabel/)

> [When people listen to my music, I hope that they will notice that if you take a piece by a composer like Schubert, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-carter/when-people-listen-to-my-music-i-hope-that-they-will-notice-that-if/)

[Elliott Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-carter/)

> [I planted some jokes in my wedding. Like, the organizers asked me to select music. So when I approached wife at the ceremony, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/i-planted-some-jokes-in-my-wedding-like-the-organizers-asked-me-to/)

[Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/)

> [The cause of freedom, in music as elsewhere, is now very nearly triumphant; but at a time when its adversaries were many and powerful,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-reginald-haweis/the-cause-of-freedom-in-music-as-elsewhere-is-now-very-nearly/)

[Hugh Reginald Haweis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-reginald-haweis/)

> [In my study I can lay my hand on the Bible in the pitch dark. All truly inspired ideas come from God. The powers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-brahms/in-my-study-i-can-lay-my-hand-on-the-bible-in-the-pitch-dark-all/)

[Johannes Brahms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-brahms/)

> [At first I thought I should be a second Beethoven; presently I found that to be another Schubert would be good; then gradually, satisfied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/engelbert-humperdinck/at-first-i-thought-i-should-be-a-second-beethoven-presently-i-found/)

[Engelbert Humperdinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/engelbert-humperdinck/)

> [“As she went on with her labour, she became aware that she had Schubert's Erl-King going around in her head. It wasn't the ideal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelie-nothomb/as-she-went-on-with-her-labour-she-became-aware-that-she-had-schubert/)

[Amélie Nothomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelie-nothomb/)

> [I bring my classical training - some of it, but not all of it - and also my background and culture, to spirituals. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-battle/i-bring-my-classical-training-some-of-it-but-not-all-of-it-and-also/)

[Kathleen Battle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-battle/)

## More by Haruki Murakami

> [I always feel like I'm struggling to become someone else. Like I'm trying to find a new place, grab hold of a new life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-always-feel-like-i-m-struggling-to-become-someone-else-like-i-m/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-writing-novels-is-like-planting-a-forest-then-writing-short/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“The sad truth is that what I could recall in five seconds all too soon needed ten, then thirty, thena full minute...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-sad-truth-is-that-what-i-could-recall-in-five-seconds-all-too/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“Intelligent teenage girls were often instinctively theatrical, purposely eccentric, mouthing highly suggestive words to confuse people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/intelligent-teenage-girls-were-often-instinctively-theatrical/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. This really came home to me once I started writing fiction, that memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memory-is-like-fiction-or-else-it-s-fiction-that-s-like-memory-this/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [The most dangerous creature here would have to be me. So maybe I'm just scared of my own shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-most-dangerous-creature-here-would-have-to-be-me-so-maybe-i-m/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [If you listen to the radio for a whole hour there's maybe one decent song. The rest is mass-produced garbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-listen-to-the-radio-for-a-whole-hour-there-s-maybe-one-decent/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“that one of our problems was our inability to recognize and accept our own deformities”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/that-one-of-our-problems-was-our-inability-to-recognize-and-accept/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“There's not a branch of publishing or broadcasting that doesn't depend in some way on advertising. It'd be like an aquarium without water. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/there-s-not-a-branch-of-publishing-or-broadcasting-that-doesn-t/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“One by one, I'll face the tasks before me and complete them as best I can. Focusing on each stride forward, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/one-by-one-i-ll-face-the-tasks-before-me-and-complete-them-as-best-i/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“Eleven o'clock had come and gone. I had to find a way to bring this conversation to a successful conclusion and get out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/eleven-o-clock-had-come-and-gone-i-had-to-find-a-way-to-bring-this/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“Some people get a kick out of reading railway timetables and that's all they do all day. Some people make huge model boats out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/some-people-get-a-kick-out-of-reading-railway-timetables-and-that-s/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“When the time comes, everybody’s got to end up where they belong. Only me, I didn’t have a place to call my own. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-the-time-comes-everybody-s-got-to-end-up-where-they-belong-only/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“You let something out of the bag before yourself knew what it was all about”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/you-let-something-out-of-the-bag-before-yourself-knew-what-it-was-all/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

[Explore all 2,928 Haruki Murakami quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

## More Accumulation quotes

> [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/)

[Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/)

> [Before World War II, I was living a very cloistered existence, as most cartoonists do. The work I was pouring out did not come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-eisner/before-world-war-ii-i-was-living-a-very-cloistered-existence-as-most/)

[Will Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-eisner/)

> [It is more than a little ironic that "capital accumulation" once a rather tendentious Marxian view of a supposed capitalist obsession, should have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kuttner/it-is-more-than-a-little-ironic-that-capital-accumulation-once-a/)

[Robert Kuttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kuttner/)

> [The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, selfappointed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/the-accumulation-of-all-powers-legislative-executive-and-judiciary-in/)

[James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/)

> [I think that only daring speculation can lead us further and not accumulation of facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-think-that-only-daring-speculation-can-lead-us-further-and-not/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [Karma is often wrongly confused with the notion of a fixed destiny. It is more like an accumulation of tendencies that can lock us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-kabat-zinn/karma-is-often-wrongly-confused-with-the-notion-of-a-fixed-destiny-it/)

[Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-kabat-zinn/)

> [There has been, for some reason (or more likely an unfortunate accumulation of reasons) a trend over the past several decades for parents to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/there-has-been-for-some-reason-or-more-likely-an-unfortunate/)

[Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/)

> [Ageing is, simply and clearly, the accumulation of damage in the body. That's all that ageing is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-de-grey/ageing-is-simply-and-clearly-the-accumulation-of-damage-in-the-body/)

[Aubrey de Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-de-grey/)

> [For me, personally, there is one really interesting thing. You're all a bit too young for that, but when you get to a certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-waltz/for-me-personally-there-is-one-really-interesting-thing-you-re-all-a/)

[Christoph Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-waltz/)

> [The mounting burden of taxation not only undermines individual incentives to increased work and earnings, but in a score of ways discourages capital accumulation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/the-mounting-burden-of-taxation-not-only-undermines-individual/)

[Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/)

> [When the accumulation of wealth is no longer of high social importance, there will be great changes in the code of morals. We shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/when-the-accumulation-of-wealth-is-no-longer-of-high-social/)

[John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/)

> [The native American has been generally despised by his white conquerors for his poverty and simplicity. They forget, perhaps, that his religion forbade the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-alexander-eastman/the-native-american-has-been-generally-despised-by-his-white/)

[Charles Alexander Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-alexander-eastman/)

> [The soul lives forever by giving, not receiving. This is the grand paradox. You get most by giving most. Conversely, by receiving much you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-johnson/the-soul-lives-forever-by-giving-not-receiving-this-is-the-grand/)

[Julian Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-johnson/)

> [Forgiveness of the present is even more important than forgiveness of the past. If you forgive every moment - allow it to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/forgiveness-of-the-present-is-even-more-important-than-forgiveness-of/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/too-much-and-too-long-we-seem-to-have-surrendered-community/)

[Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/)

[Browse all 412 Accumulation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accumulation/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“That’s why I like to listen to Schubert while I’m driving. Like I said, it’s because all the performances are imperfect. A dense, artistic kind of imperfection stimulates your consciousness, keeps you alert. If I listen to some utterly perfect performance of an utterly perfect piece while I’m driving, I might want to close my eyes and die right then and there. But listening to the D major, I can feel the limits of what humans are capable of—that a certain type of perfection can only be realized through a limitless accumulation of the imperfect. And personally, I find that encouraging.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Haruki Murakami"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/that-s-why-i-like-to-listen-to-schubert-while-i-m-driving-like-i-said/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Accumulation"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/that-s-why-i-like-to-listen-to-schubert-while-i-m-driving-like-i-said/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe9/haruki-murakami-21_accumulation_that-s-why-i-like-to-listen-to-schubert_364713.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe9/haruki-murakami-21_accumulation_that-s-why-i-like-to-listen-to-schubert_364713.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe9/haruki-murakami-21_accumulation_that-s-why-i-like-to-listen-to-schubert_364713.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“That’s why I like to listen to Schubert while I’m driving. Like I said, it’s because all the performances…” — Haruki Murakami",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Haruki Murakami",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“That’s why I like to listen...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/that-s-why-i-like-to-listen-to-schubert-while-i-m-driving-like-i-said/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/that-s-why-i-like-to-listen-to-schubert-while-i-m-driving-like-i-said/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
