Today, conducting is a question of ego: a lot of people believe they are actually playing the music.

Now the first step has to be taken, the step towards democracy. This step is full of risks, and requires trust on all sides. We don't know where it will lead. But if we just stand still, we will have no chance of escaping the violence.

When playing music, it is possible to achieve a unique sense of peace.

An Israeli who thinks that his government is doing everything right wouldn't join the Divan Orchestra in the first place.

Sound is often talked about in a very subjective way, as if it had a colour. This is a bright sound, this is a dark sound. I don't believe in that because I think that is much too subjective.

The Germans are prisoners of their past.

There are many types of silence. There is a silence before the note, there is a silence at the end and there is a silence in the middle.