Over the years it has been my privilege to lead performances with Saint Louis, the National Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra and so many other wonderful organizations.

How could a New Yorker possibly take something called the Hollywood String Quartet seriously?

The role of an orchestra in the 21st century isn't just playing, it's about developing future audiences and performers.

We need music to restore the human spirit

I use my hands like a sculptor, to mold and shape the sound I want, to clarify.

The convergence of the Rhone and Saone. Paul Bocuse. The birthplace of cinema. Chateauneuf-du-Pape just a few miles down the road. It does not get much better than Lyon.

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.

There is no 'perfect' in music. If I ever came off the stage and felt it could not be better, it would then be time to quit.

We are a global society, and one does not have to be from Germany to give a great performance of Beethoven.

I don't really think about retiring. I will retire just before people start saying, 'I knew Leonard Slatkin when he conducted well.

I'm beginning to see that just knowing the piece is not enough. Having a clear technique is not enough. Having a broad repertory is not enough. I want desperately to get past all those things.

Norah watched him, serious and utterly absorbed in his task, overcome by the simple fact of his existence.

Your success in the job market has nothing to do with the job market itself - instead it has everything to do with you.

Our ideas are like boomerangs, when you throw them they are destined to come back.

We grow in time to trust the future for our answers.

A good romantic comedy is my favorite movie to watch.

Sooner rather than later, any other form other than digital media will be a thing of the past. It won't vanish, but let's face it, this is seemingly the way of the future.

Through the small tall bathroom window the December yard is gray and scratchy, the tree calligraphic.

I'm not sure who invented dodgeball, but I can almost guarantee you that it wasn't the shortest kid in the class.

You must never believe all these things which the scientists say because they always want more than they can get-they are never satisfied.

It's better to be hanged for loyalty than be rewarded for betrayal.