We need music to restore the human spirit

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.

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.

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.

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.

There are enough real enemies and threats in the world without having to invent imaginary ones.

Looking back you realize that a very special person passed briefly through your life and that person was you. It is not too late to become that person again.

The guy in your book? I’m that guy, ”“I’ve never done any of the stuff in that book, ” she said, “But I want to. I’ve wanted to for a while.

Madness does not always howl. Sometimes, it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "Hey, is there room in your head for one more?

It is impossible to control creation.

Great artists treasure their time with a bitter and snarling miserliness.

A Liberal is a man who uses his legs and his hands at the behest-at the command-of his head.

It was interesting to have both very a conservative and very liberal parent, because we deal with both these elements in the world and we have both elements within ourselves.

Giving up and doing something else (nursing, for me) was exactly what eventually led me to making music that other people wanted to hear.

My work always tried to unite the true with the beautiful; but when I had to choose one or the other, I usually chose the beautiful.