The most perfect melodic shapes are found in Mozart; he has the lightness of touch which is the true objective ... Listen to the remarkable expansion of a Mozart melody, to Cherubino's 'Voi che sapete', for instance. You think it is coming to an end, but it goes farther, even farther.

I shall never be converted, and I shall remain true to my old religion of the classics until my life's end.

don't perspire while conducting - only the audience should get warm.

On conducting: If you can just barely hear the French horns on stage, the balance is perfect.

The human voice is the most beautiful instrument of all, but the most difficult to play.

The aria, after all, is the soul of opera.

I may not be a first-rate composer, but I am a first-class second-rate composer.