I can't imagine how many first performances I've done, perhaps 500. Some of them have been very good, and some of course very bad.
Esa-Pekka SalonenOrchestras have become used to the emphasis on the separation of layers, of the ultimate precision and clarity.
Esa-Pekka SalonenConducting is intensely social. You work with a hundred people every day. You collaborate, you try to focus their thoughts, you try to give them a concept, you try to inspire them, and it's actually exhausting.
Esa-Pekka SalonenThe sort of commercial parameters of classical music changed after the [World War II] , and the whole industry became more backward-looking.
Esa-Pekka Salonen