I want to be able to depict in music a glass of beer so accurately that every listener can tell whether it is a Pilsner or a Kulmbacher.

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.

He'd be better off shoveling snow.

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

Must one become seventy years old to recognize that one's greatest strength lies in creating musical kitsch?

I want to be able to depict in music a glass of beer so accurately that every listener can tell whether it is a Pilsner or a Kulmbacher.

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