Soccer and sports are entertainment ... You can't call Beethoven's 9th Symphony or a work of Shakespeare 'entertainment.' It's not 'entertainment.' It's culture.

A conductor should guide rather than command.

Music does not know the difference between people; it only speaks to their hearts. It is the only form of communication that can bring this terrible world together.

The conductor's stand is not a continent of power, but rather an island of solitude.

Nobility of spirit has more to do with simplicity than ostentation, wisdom rather than wealth, commitment rather than ambition.

I'm not shy in the spotlight. I might seem austere and even arrogant, but far from it, I'm actually shy.

You have to be able to enthral and persuade at the same time.

You have to channel the interpretation and performance into 100 people. And with the audience, the critics.

It is extraordinary to have time to again study Le nozze di Figaro and discover new things.

You can never be lost when you learn to get lost into the blue of the sea..

We came to serve God and to get rich, as all men wish to do.

I was well beaten myself, and I am better for it.

...no way could I fall in love. I just couldn't go there yet. Settle for less. I didn't want to process through anything. I didn't want to pick up any pieces. Lower my expectations.

I have been studying women’s political behavior since the early 1970s and first identified the gender gap in 1980 with the help of legendary pollster Louis Harris.

Racing is the fun part; it's the reward of all the hard work.

Sages do not accumulate for themselves. The more they give to others, the more they possess of their own. The way of Heaven is to benefit others and not to injure.

There's a champion in all of us, it's how you choose to find it.

You have to live in a state of thinking your painting is good, or you couldn't do it.

Upon thy cheek I lay this zealous kiss, as seal to the indenture of my love.