Creativity Quote by Kurt Masur

Masur’s line isn’t a gentle reminder about manners; it’s a conductor’s shorthand for how power is supposed to circulate inside an orchestra. He’s talking about “very confident people” because confidence is often the socially acceptable mask for something more corrosive: the belief that talent entitles you to dominate the room. In an ensemble built on microscopic listening, a loud personality can be as disruptive as a wrong entrance.

The phrasing “please, be polite” is almost comically modest, a soft glove over a hard rule. Masur knew that musical hierarchy is unavoidable - there’s a podium, there are principal chairs - but he also understood that the orchestra only works when ego is domesticated into attention. “Other players are good enough as you” lands like a deliberate deflation of celebrity culture inside classical music, where the myth of the singular genius is always trying to elbow its way into a collective art form.

The most revealing clause is “you should never speak out of an orchestra.” On the surface, it’s practical: don’t talk over colleagues, don’t grandstand in rehearsal, don’t turn notes into a personal monologue. Underneath, it’s an ethics statement: your voice matters precisely because it’s part of a larger texture. Masur, shaped by European orchestral tradition and the politics of institutions, is defending the ensemble as a miniature society - one where freedom is earned through discipline, and respect is a musical requirement, not a nicety.