We are a global society, and one does not have to be from Germany to give a great performance of Beethoven. Leonard Slatkin Read Quote
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. Leonard Slatkin Read Quote
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. Leonard Slatkin Read Quote
The role of an orchestra in the 21st century isn’t just playing, it’s about developing future audiences and performers. Leonard Slatkin Read Quote
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. Leonard Slatkin Read Quote
I don’t really think about retiring. I will retire just before people start saying, ‘I knew Leonard Slatkin when he conducted well.’ Leonard Slatkin Read Quote
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. Leonard Slatkin Read Quote
On the corner of 57th and 7th Avenue sits the most famous concert hall in the world. No less a figure than when Tchaikovsky led the first performances in 1891. Virtually every major artist has performed there. There is simply no place like it. The first time I stepped foot in Carnegie Hall was in 1964. Leonard Slatkin Read Quote
I knew I could never match my father as a violinist, and there were already four generations of outstanding cellists in the family. Leonard Slatkin Read Quote
How could a New Yorker possibly take something called the Hollywood String Quartet seriously? Leonard Slatkin Read Quote
