A music director cannot and should not be chosen on the basis of a first date. It is not so difficult to make a good impression with a single appearance, usually containing some of a conductor's party pieces, works they have performed successfully many times before.

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

On the corner of 57th and 7th Avenue sits the most famous concert hall in the world. No less a figure than when Tchaikovsky led the first performances in 1891. Virtually every major artist has performed there. There is simply no place like it. The first time I stepped foot in Carnegie Hall was in 1964.

An orchestra knows during the first two minutes of the first rehearsal whether or not they are going to enjoy the person on the podium.

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.

I use my hands like a sculptor, to mold and shape the sound I want, to clarify.

We need music to restore the human spirit