Beethoven’s fourth and seventh symphonies have a certain amount in common. Well, of course they’re both written by Beethoven, but besides that, I would say their overall effect and idea is to provide the listener with an incredible sense of joy.
Conducting is a strange thing to teach. There are very few great conducting teachers, and most great conductors don’t teach. Look at Valery Gergiev – what he does is not teachable. A lot of it is on-the-job training, what works and what doesn’t work.
Over the years, I’ve seen how being a soloist and having a family can really work.
I know how to deal with jet lag, and I know just how much rest I need and when I need to take naps. When you walk on stage, you need your brain working at its highest and most fully-functioning, so it’s not always easy, but I sort of figure it out.
It’s different for people who have not seen a symphony conductor conduct from a chair. I feel very connected to the orchestra in a way that a conductor sometimes does not feel. I think it’s more visceral.
In concertos, I stand up, and I conduct with the bow when I’m not playing. During symphonies, I sit, but sometimes I stop playing to conduct. Being seated in a section allows me to feel more like we’re playing chamber music, which is how I like to approach it.
I always have loved the Stradivarius. My teacher, Josef Gingold, he had a Stradivarius. As a treat, he would put it under my chin and let me play a few notes, and I remember that feeling of the overtones, the complexity of the sound. It’s like a great wine.
It’s endless, the amount of things that music touches on that can help kids grow that are very, very practical.
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