I think competition in any kind of activity like music, art, literature - anything that's not done with a timer - is actually impossible. So, in effect, what you're doing is you're entering the lottery. You're hoping that you play well (and that) you play your best on the day that you're heard, and you're hoping that the people who are judging will like what you do.

Everyone is different. Sometimes it's very exciting; sometimes very scary.

All of us love applause, and so we should - it means that the listener likes us!

The sheer force of the music calls for a wild audience reaction.

We seem to have set up some very arcane rules as to when it is actually OK to applaud.

Sometimes I wish that applause would come just a bit later, when it is so beautifully hushed that I feel like holding my breath in the silence of the end.

Applause should be an emotional response to the music, rather than a regulated social duty.