The players never think they project enough. In a hall that seats 3,300 people, it's a very scary thing to play so quietly that you can barely hear yourself.
Esa-Pekka SalonenStravinsky is masterly: his harmony is conceived so precisely that it can only be the way it is.
Esa-Pekka SalonenIt would be very tempting to say that why paint because we have Michelangelo, we have Leonardo [Da Vinci], we have all these guys. Why waste your time, because most likely you're not going to be on that level anyway.
Esa-Pekka SalonenOur audience, it has been a more difficult process for classical music audiences around the world, and I'm not completely certain why.
Esa-Pekka SalonenYou 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.
Esa-Pekka Salonen