I think if you're in a committed relationship, unless you have some sort of an understanding, monogamy is something that should exist.

Once you have a lot of success, you become a target in many ways.

People assume I'm out there having this great life, but money doesn't erase the pain. When you're young you barrel through life, making choices without thinking of repercussions. A few years down the line, you wake up in a certain place and wonder how the hell you got there.

I've learned something about kids - they don't do what you say; they do what you do.

There was no such thing as a solo career in East Germany. You had to get the best orchestra job that you could.

I know a lot of editors who are very bitter about the directors they work with. They feel they could have done a better job, and I say to them, 'Oh really? Why don't you go try - it's not easy.'

I used to tell my graduate students at Stanford, 'Don't worry about what job you have to pick because your job picks you. Let your job pick you. Find something you are passionate about. Then when you are passionate, be persistent. Just keep doing it for a while because progress is always hard work. It never rests in ideas.'

You can make something out of nothing. I proved that with my career, making it out of the city that I'm from.