Creativity Quote by Kurt Masur

There is a quiet defiance in Masur’s phrasing: he refuses the neat narrative of conversion. “I wouldn’t say I’ve changed my mind” draws a line around conviction, as if to protect the core self from the flattering myth that experience automatically produces new beliefs. Then he pivots to what actually changes: “natural habits” and “natural character.” That repetition of “natural” matters. He’s acknowledging temperament as something almost physiological - the default settings you’re born with - while insisting discipline can still reshape the way those instincts show up in the world.

For a musician and conductor, this lands with particular force. Conducting is authority under pressure: you don’t just interpret a score; you manage egos, time, institutions, politics, and the emotional weather of an orchestra. Masur’s subtext is professional maturity without ideological surrender. He’s not claiming to be “a different person”; he’s claiming to be a more usable version of himself. The mind remains steady, but the behavior gets edited.

It also hints at an old-world ethic that feels almost radical now: self-control as craft. In an era that prizes “authenticity” as unfiltered expression, Masur suggests authenticity can be something you earn by refining your roughness, not indulging it. The intent isn’t self-mythology; it’s accountability. He’s telling you where he made concessions - in habit, in temperament - and where he didn’t: in the internal compass that guides the work.