Of course performing talent, that's clear. Maybe this is not so well-known among young people who are interested in music, who are talented in music, but they're trying to figure out how to go about it.

The Royal Festival Hall in London is nice; people hang out there. I think this inviting, non-exclusive character is very important.

I love a visceral sound, the kind that hits you in the belly.

Our industry [classic music] has kind of retarded into this kind of endless cover-producing thing, and it's a pity.

Anyone who composes and conducts at the same time is immediately suspect, because he must be faking one or the other.

The biggest difference between U.S and most European big cities is that in a place like London, for instance, there are five orchestras, and there's a bloody competition between these five orchestras.

I'm composing more than before. I'm cutting down on conducting.