This extraordinary group has absolutely captivated my imagination, knocked my socks off - what more can I say?

You can't have Bach, Mozart and Beethoven as your favorite composers. They simply define what music is!

And what classical music does best and must always do more, is to show this kind of transformation of moods, to show a very wide psychological voyage. And I think that's something that we as classical musicians have underestimated.

Part of my mission is simply that: to bring the world of the arts, particularly classical music, closer to people so they don't feel that it is something remote that they have to specially prepare themselves for, or dress up for.

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

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.