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.

Music has just as much to do with movement and body as it does soul and intellect.

I've learned a lot from the masters of orchestration, like Ravel and Stravinsky.

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.

I'm still disturbed if a chord isn't together, but your priorities change as you get older.

Conducting was just something that happened by fluke.

It 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.