Esa-Pekka Salonen Quotes

By the very nature of his art, which depends on invention and innovation, a story teller must depart from the beaten track and, having done so, occasionally startle and disagree with some of his associates. Healthy disagreement we must have.

I think there is a lot of space for people to love who they love, and a lot of space for actors to carve a niche for themselves.

I still maintain several different outlets of artistry, like my music, photography, writing and all those things. I don't pigeonhole myself into one thing. I do all sorts of things, and that's so important to me.

Los Angeles is not a town full of airheads. There's a great deal of wonderful energy there. They say 'yes' to things; not like the endless 'nos' and 'hrrumphs' you get in England!

I can honestly say I've never thought for a second about whether a character reflects poorly on any group. All that matters to me is that the character is true to my belief in who he or she is.

Just trying to be different - when I hear something - I don't like to go trampling on other people's sounds.

The people at my label are always endorsing what I say. They say, 'You see the truth, so speak it.' They believe in me. They respect my opinion. At least I have an opinion, and I'm not trying to play it safe. I don't go around saying, 'I think everyone is great, and the world is fantastic.' Everyone has opinions. They just don't say it.

Auditions are so much fun. A lot of people dread auditions; they think they have to do it in order to get the job. I don't really mind if I don't get the job, as long as I get to do something interesting in the audition. It makes me feel more creative as a person.

I like to have a lot of different creative outlets.

I'd like to shut off all the noise and allow people to be creative without all the judgments and standards that we think we have to follow.

I want to tell human stories not solely based on race. There are so many great actresses and actors that are out there, and I just want to see them do good work.

I feel like there's so many voices, and it's necessary for there to be a lot of different voices because we can't all like the same art. That would just be so boring... If anybody wants to hear it, I'm here. It makes for a more interesting world for there to be more than one kind of singer.

Cinema is diversifying; there's room for every kind of cinema today.

I think the more open-minded people we have - like casting directors and producers - the better things are going to be.

I don't like to box myself into anything, because I also sing and I love to dance; I do everything.

The proliferation of styles, genres, and media need not be the death knell of anything. Instead, it's a sign that our acceptance for variation and experimentation has become wider, our interests have become more diverse, and our appetites have become more omnivorous.

People classify things and that's fair enough. But if somebody wants to make something different, that doesn't make them any less of an artist.

People know who I am now and what I can do, and it's all thanks to 'AGT'. It was never about winning for me. I just love to perform, and that's it really.

I think American Ballet Theatre is setting that standard now for classical ballet, that you can dream big, and it doesn't matter what you look like, where you come from, what your background is.

I feel like my shows have always been a place where people can wear and be and seem however they want, and it's a heartening event.

I do not want myself to be restricted to a pigeonholed kind of filmmaker.

As far as being locked into one certain thing, that's not what I want to do. I just want the opportunity to go off and do something else, whether it's plays or musicals or whatever.

Getting to play a role that hasn't been played is such an honor.

I have been lucky makers have allowed me to experiment with my roles.

You should live hoping you are going to offend people, because then you're doing something.