Leonard Edward Slatkin (born September 1, 1944) is an American conductor, author and composer.
We need music to restore the human spirit
We are a global society, and one does not have to be from Germany to give a great performance of Beethoven.
I knew I could never match my father as a violinist, and there were already four generations of outstanding cellists in the family.
Randy Newman and I grew up together in Los Angeles. We are both products of the film studio era. Randy is one of the great songwriters of our time and one of the fun people to be with.
People know Detroit for the cars, but the suburban areas of the city are really beautiful. It's much more inhabitable than people think. Many believe it's like Berlin at the end of World War II.
I have been long associated with British music. I have favoured it as my alternate music next to American.
Over the years it has been my privilege to lead performances with Saint Louis, the National Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra and so many other wonderful organizations.
I am usually cooking at least four times a week if I am home. The easiest thing that I do a lot is gazpacho. It's simple and it tastes best if you let it sit over night in the refrigerator. . . I don't want anybody near me when I am cooking. If I am going to make a mistake, it has to be my fault.
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.
The life of any musician really doesn't fall into a normal schedule at all. Every week there are different rehearsals, different days and nights of performances, so we don't have a particular pattern that we can follow. For a conductor, it is a little bit worse because we have to allow for traveling.
I'll know I'm reaching the total American market when I'm asked to do a video for MTV.
I don't really think about retiring. I will retire just before people start saying, 'I knew Leonard Slatkin when he conducted well.
I use my hands like a sculptor, to mold and shape the sound I want, to clarify.
I've come to the conclusion that a long personal relationship is next to impossible for me. Ultimately, music is a possessive mistress.
The convergence of the Rhone and Saone. Paul Bocuse. The birthplace of cinema. Chateauneuf-du-Pape just a few miles down the road. It does not get much better than Lyon.
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.
How could a New Yorker possibly take something called the Hollywood String Quartet seriously?
There's not an orchestra in the world that doesn't have weaknesses. None of us can play everything well. The repertoire is just too big.
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.
Ultimately, music is a possessive mistress.