Daniel Barenboim

Any conductor who tells you that if he is approached for the directorship of the Chicago Symphony that he's not interested in it, you know perfectly well he's lying. ”

Most of the dramatism in Wagner comes from a very close link between the music and the language of the text. So much of the expressivity of Wagner's music dramas comes from the singers' capacity to play with the sound of the language. This kind of thing you can do very well in concert performance. ”

Controversial means somebody who makes people think. And if you are afraid of people who will be against you, you might as well stay home and do nothing. ”

Sound is often talked about in a very subjective way, as if it had a colour. This is a bright sound, this is a dark sound. I don't believe in that because I think that is much too subjective. ”

In the beginning, there was silence. And out of the silence came the sound. The sound is not here. ”

When playing music, it is possible to achieve a unique sense of peace. ”

No one can be an artist without a rich inner life. ”

I am the conductor for life of the Staatskapelle in Berlin, which fills me with tremendous joy because I feel absolutely at one with them. When we play, I have a feeling that together we manage to create one collective lung for the whole orchestra so that everybody in the stage breathes the music in the same way. ”

I think Sharon is anti-Israeli because it's in the interest of Israel to understand the problems of the other side. ”

Music is not a profession. Music is a way of life - one that requires much professionalism. ”