But a large symphony orchestra basically is a repertory company and it has a very enormous repertoire and it is important for the performers to be able to know how to shift focus so that they instantly become part of the sound world that a particular repertoire demands.

Thank God for movie music. It preserves the rich vocabulary in classical music through challenging times.

One of my central maxims is how a major part of what a conductor tries to do is get a large group of people to agree on where "now" actually is.

If you're curious, if you have a capacity for wonder, if you're alive, you know all that you need to know [about music].

They are representations of many shared hours of collaboration between us all. That's the real nature of the relationship the orchestra and I are trying to build.

When I first was conducting as guest conductor in Europe 25 years ago, I would propose doing American pieces and grudgingly it would be accepted from time to time.

If you're alive, you have all the experience necessary to understand classical music.