I was lucky that I met the right mentors and teachers at the right moment.
We're in the midst of an evolution, not a revolution.
Everybody blames the culture without taking responsibility.
More and more couples are having this negotiation or discussion, but I'm still amazed at the number who aren't and where the cultural norm sort of kicks in and they just assume that mom's got to be the one who stays home, not dad.
If you factor in not just who's doing what at home, but how much more time working fathers are spending on work outside the home, on average they spend two hours more per day outside the home.
I have a big problem with conductors who gesture a lot.
Art has never been a popularity contest.
It was just that we had this phenomenal honeymoon relationship that just kept on going.
And so, little by little, I gradually divested myself of pretty nearly all of the guest conducting I used to do, because I was at the same time working in the places like the Met, where I could work in this sort of depth.
It has to be able to play at the maximum expression and communication in every style, and the only way you can do that is - like Verdi said - working with a file, every day, little by little, until the orchestra's collective qualities emerge.
I think this orchestra's strengths involve drama and voice.
There is no relationship between the gestures and what an orchestra will do.
Where my tastes in music are concerned, I'm a real maximalist.
It's just that, when the orchestra look at me, I want them to see a completely involved person who reflects what we rehearsed, and whose function is to make it possible for them to do it.