I'm not particularly lucid after a concert. I'm not very lucid before, either.

I'll know I'm reaching the total American market when I'm asked to do a video for MTV.

The role of an orchestra in the 21st century isn't just playing, it's about developing future audiences and performers.

My first strong musical memory is of the Villa-Lobos Sixth Quartet which my parents were rehearsing. I remember that it reminded me of big teddy bears dancing around.

We are a global society, and one does not have to be from Germany to give a great performance of Beethoven.

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