Famous quotes containing the words van, beethoven and/or piano:
“If ... boyhood and youth are but vanity, must it not be our ambition to become men?”
—Vincent Van Gogh (1853–1890)
“People whose sensibility is destroyed by music in trains, airports, lifts, cannot concentrate on a Beethoven quartet.”
—Witold Lutoslawski (b. 1913)
“It is not always possible to predict the response of a doting Jewish mother. Witness the occasion on which the late piano virtuoso Oscar Levant telephoned his mother with some important news. He had proposed to his beloved and been accepted. Replied Mother Levant: “Good, Oscar, I’m happy to hear it. But did you practice today?””
—Liz Smith (20th century)