I can go in front of an orchestra. I can go in front of an audience. But if you see me walking through an audience in the reception or through a lot of people, I’m still shy.

Since the composer has said everything, if you discover everything, it will be enough and you will be a happy man. Don’t try to say it’s your taste, and because of that you are changing this or that. And I must say this respect is still there.

Very often, if I know the orchestra doesn’t know a piece or it’s a new piece, I have main ideas about it. But then we start to play and I never talk about places where they played so beautiful and so clear in the beginning that there is nothing to say.

In South America, I heard the 8th Symphony of Beethoven. And the young conductor thought, Beethoven must be heroic. But this is piece which shouldn’t be heroic. And this was such a misunderstanding, such a deep misunderstanding.

Even my family laughed at me because they thought this young guy who’s always stuttering in front of other people should be in front of 100 musicians and talk to them and leading them.

And at the same time, I had my very first concert at the age of 16. I hadn’t heard a symphony orchestra before, and I was so deeply impressed I said I have to be a conductor.

I wouldn’t say I’ve changed my mind. I changed some of my natural habits, some of my natural character.

And I love the organ because I grew up in a small city, the organ was the major instrument in church which impressed me very strongly.

If every school would hire two more music teachers, we would need two fewer police officers.

I never had the idea to be a conductor.