Somehow, conductor as this superhuman conduit between the masters and the masterpieces and the immortals.

After 30 years I have realized the greatest pleasure I can get is to have learnt.

I was starting a group of musicians and we had a group of young composers in Finland back in the '70s, and the real conductors, the professional conductors at the time were not interested in our stuff.

In the range of music that we play - roughly 300 years' worth-there really are more similarities than differences.

Pulse as an active means of expression, Stravinsky and Beethoven are the two masters of that.

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

The underlying process in Northern music tends to be slower and continuous, whatever's happening on the surface; in Southern music the underlying process is always faster.