"Every violinist has a different style, so it's important to be able to recognise their styles. You don't have to like everyone's style but you have to know these styles"
About this Quote
Ricci isn’t selling taste; he’s selling literacy. The line reads like a pep talk for students, but it’s really a quiet rebuke to the way classical music culture often hides behind “objective” standards. In a world that loves rankings, competitions, and definitive recordings, Ricci insists on something messier: individuality is the baseline, not the deviation.
The first sentence is deceptively simple. “Different style” sounds like a polite nod to interpretation, yet coming from Ricci - a virtuoso formed in the era of Heifetz-style precision and high-stakes conservatory gatekeeping - it carries bite. He’s implying that if you can’t recognize style, you’re not actually listening; you’re just checking boxes for intonation and tempo. Recognition becomes a skill, not a preference, like learning dialects rather than arguing over which accent is “correct.”
Then he draws a hard boundary between liking and knowing. That’s the subtext: your taste is not a credential. Classical audiences (and young players) often treat dislike as discernment, using “I don’t like that” as shorthand for “it’s wrong.” Ricci flips it. You’re allowed to dislike, but you’re not allowed to be ignorant. Knowing styles is how you understand lineage, influence, risk, and intention - why one violinist slides shamelessly into notes while another stays clean, why one treats Bach like architecture and another like speech.
It’s also a professional ethic: respect the full ecosystem of interpretation, even the parts that don’t flatter your own.
The first sentence is deceptively simple. “Different style” sounds like a polite nod to interpretation, yet coming from Ricci - a virtuoso formed in the era of Heifetz-style precision and high-stakes conservatory gatekeeping - it carries bite. He’s implying that if you can’t recognize style, you’re not actually listening; you’re just checking boxes for intonation and tempo. Recognition becomes a skill, not a preference, like learning dialects rather than arguing over which accent is “correct.”
Then he draws a hard boundary between liking and knowing. That’s the subtext: your taste is not a credential. Classical audiences (and young players) often treat dislike as discernment, using “I don’t like that” as shorthand for “it’s wrong.” Ricci flips it. You’re allowed to dislike, but you’re not allowed to be ignorant. Knowing styles is how you understand lineage, influence, risk, and intention - why one violinist slides shamelessly into notes while another stays clean, why one treats Bach like architecture and another like speech.
It’s also a professional ethic: respect the full ecosystem of interpretation, even the parts that don’t flatter your own.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
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