Inspiration is wonderful when it happens, but the writer must develop an approach for the rest of the time... The wait is simply too long.

Life without music is unthinkable.

Mozart combines serenity, melancholy, and tragic intensity into one great lyric improvisation. Over it all hovers the greater spirit that is Mozart's - the spirit of compassion, of universal love, even of suffering - a spirit that knows no age, that belongs to all ages.

When I am with composers, I say I am a conductor. When I am with conductors, I say I am a composer.

Elvis is the greatest cultural force in the twentieth century. He introduced the beat to everything, music, language, clothes, it's a whole new social revolution - the 60's comes from it.

Life without music is unthinkable. Life without music is academic. That is why my contact with music is a total embrace.

Conducting is like making love to a hundred people at the same time.