Democracies can't handle austerity measures very well.
An orchestra knows during the first two minutes of the first rehearsal whether or not they are going to enjoy the person on the podium.
My first strong musical memory is of the Villa-Lobos Sixth Quartet which my parents were rehearsing. I remember that it reminded me of big teddy bears dancing around.
People know Detroit for the cars, but the suburban areas of the city are really beautiful. It's much more inhabitable than people think. Many believe it's like Berlin at the end of World War II.
The conductor is the artistic leader and sometimes cultural arbiter of his or her community. It is their leadership that is looked to and should anything go wrong, they are the persons taking most of the heat.
We need music to restore the human spirit
The role of an orchestra in the 21st century isn't just playing, it's about developing future audiences and performers.
I have a million small memories that will sustain me through life.
With no matter what human being, taken individually, I always find reasons for concluding that sorrow and misfortune do not suit him; either because he seems too mediocre for anything so great, or, on the contrary, too precious to be destroyed.
The books of C. S. Lewis had a very profound, indirect effect on me.
You'd be surprised how fast things happen when the right man comes along.