There's not an orchestra in the world that doesn't have weaknesses. None of us can play everything well. The repertoire is just too big.

I don't really think about retiring. I will retire just before people start saying, 'I knew Leonard Slatkin when he conducted well.

Growing up in Hollywood, like I did, I have a passion and a love for the movies, so I go to the cinema all the time.

How could a New Yorker possibly take something called the Hollywood String Quartet seriously?

I knew I could never match my father as a violinist, and there were already four generations of outstanding cellists in the family.

The conductor is the artistic leader and sometimes cultural arbiter of his or her community. It is their leadership that is looked to and should anything go wrong, they are the persons taking most of the heat.

I have been long associated with British music. I have favoured it as my alternate music next to American.