Success is important only to the extent that it puts one in a position to do more things one likes to do.

Tanglewood [summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra] was a place where gods strode the earth.

Once in a while, when everything is just right, there is a moment of magic. People can live on moments of magic.

The fact is that great musical pieces take and hold the stage because they provide great emotional experiences.

That's what it is that you rehearse - the making of music, not the playing of notes as abstractions.

If you approach an opera as though it were something that always went a certain way, that's what you get. I approach an opera as though I didn't know it.

Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can - there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.