Words matter. These are the best Leonard Slatkin Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
In some ways I believe music is the more convincing communicator of ideas than words. For instance, we can hear of Kordaly and Bartok and recognise them as Hungarian, but very few of us speak Hungarian, but the music itself speaks to more people.
I’ve come to the conclusion that a long, personal relationship is next to impossible for me. Ultimately, music is a possessive mistress.
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 not particularly lucid after a concert. I’m not very lucid before, either.
We are a global society, and one does not have to be from Germany to give a great performance of Beethoven.
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.
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.
To my mind and ear, there is simply nothing that compares to the musical sophistication of a late Beethoven, Bartok, Schubert or Brahms work for minimal forces.
A music director cannot and should not be chosen on the basis of a first date. It is not so difficult to make a good impression with a single appearance, usually containing some of a conductor’s party pieces, works they have performed successfully many times before.
I have been long associated with British music. I have favoured it as my alternate music next to American.
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.
The role of an orchestra in the 21st century isn’t just playing, it’s about developing future audiences and performers.
I knew I could never match my father as a violinist, and there were already four generations of outstanding cellists in the family.
How could a New Yorker possibly take something called the Hollywood String Quartet seriously?
I use my hands like a sculptor, to mold and shape the sound I want, to clarify.
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.
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.
There’s not an orchestra in the world that doesn’t have weaknesses. None of us can play everything well. The repertoire is just too big.
