Every orchestra I know, every opera house I know, is desperately looking around trying to find new talent, new composing talent, supporting young composers, supporting new ideas, supporting new ways of getting the message across.

I feel that this is my artistic home, and I'm very happy to be a California artist together with many others who are not from here originally but who decided to make this the center of their activities. There's something about that that I find very inspiring and satisfying.

Conducting was just something that happened by fluke.

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

I think we still do have a PR problem in the sense that these institutions portray themselves quite often as a museum without the contemporary wing. For a young cutting-edge person, why would you get into that sort of business, which is very clearly geared towards dead or almost dead people?

Once you get over the first hill, there is always a new, higher one lurking, of course.

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