I think if you would like to describe composing as an act with one word, "slow" would be the word.

There is more openness in LA to possibilities than on the East Coast of America. There is a pioneering spirit there that stems from the reason people went out there in the first place-to find something new.

The sort of commercial parameters of classical music changed after the [World War II] , and the whole industry became more backward-looking.

When an artist works today or whenever, it's not about creating immortal masterpieces, because that's the one thing we don't decide ourselves.

You know, in some ways conducting is counter-intuitive. It's like winter driving in Finland - if you skid, the natural reaction is to fight with the wheel and jam on the brakes, which is the quickest way to get killed. What you have to do is let go, and the car will right itself. It's the same when an orchestra loses its ensemble. You have to resist the temptation to semaphore, and let the orchestra find its own way back to the pulse.

Our audience, it has been a more difficult process for classical music audiences around the world, and I'm not completely certain why.

I think we are in the process of getting the word out, and we haven't done very well yet. But we are trying.