If I'm within reach and can be helpful, I have a tendency to say 'Yes.' It's hard to say 'No.

I'm not one of those people who says, 'I never read reviews,' because I don't believe those people.

My show business career doesn't mean I can't write a symphony. It just means I was never asked to write one.

You mustn't underestimate an audience's intelligence.

Normally I can balance two or three things. The problem is when you're out of work and don't have anything to balance. I think people assume you're always busy. You go through dry spells.

I can make a song up about anything: garbage, the weather, things in the news.

Many, many years ago, I was one of the few conductors who talked to the audience and now a lot of classical conductors have figured it out... otherwise, you just get the back of someone's head playing music you could hear on a CD. It's not enough anymore.