Michael Tilson Thomas Quotes

I endeavor that all orchestras I conduct sound Central European.

From time to time, the Vienna Philharmonic could play without a conductor because they are so good.

My idea to bridge the world together with music starting in Asia and going to the West is something that is new, untapped and leading to the future of bringing the worlds together.

I sometimes feel it is to my disadvantage that I have not conducted the Cleveland Orchestra or the Boston or Chicago symphonies, but then I have had to sacrifice something in order to have enough time with my orchestras.

Music has always been transnational; people pick up whatever interests them, and certainly a lot of classical music has absorbed influences from all over the world.

It's a small community, the classical music community, along with the excitement of new places and new things and this feeling of being at home wherever you go because that's where your community is.

When I was invited to sing with Pavarotti, I had about two weeks to learn Italian.

Next year I'm going to be a guesting soloist with orchestras all over Europe, to start off with.

I have sat in with the Burbank Philharmonic and the Topanga Orchestra when they need someone if someone gets sick or something.

I would love to bring the children from my foundation Sinfonia por el Peru to play with some of the best musicians in the world.

Whenever I visited China in the past, the relationships always felt superficial; there was no time where I felt those moments of conflict and delight that make you feel close to another person. But since I started touring there in 2004, I would always collaborate with local musicians, and that opened up a new level of intimacy.

I've never been invited to do an exhibition or do a talk in England, except once, about 10 years ago. I've given talks all across Canada, many in the United States, South Africa, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan - but not England.

To have a live choir there on the stage and then these singers from different countries signing with us in real time through Skype, it's as if there aren't borders anymore.

As a Japanese actor, I really want to work with a lot of actors and actresses in the world and many directors who have many different kinds of talents. I feel like nationally doesn't matter at all.

My aim is just to make good music every single time.

The first time I came to New York in 1952, I was busy with music. I made the acquaintance at this period with John Cage, and also the acquaintance of Varese for the first time. We were very good friends. He gave me some scores, and we recorded them a little later.

I like a lot of international people. Julie Taymore, the American director - she's one of the most exciting directors I've seen.

I met Dylan on 'Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.' We buddied around for quite a while after that. We jammed together; he liked my Mexican songs.

The Righteous Brothers started out in Orange County, California. It was about the whitest place in the country, but the black marines from the nearby base heard there were two guys singing rhythm and blues, so they came down to hear us. At the end of our songs they'd yell out, 'That's righteous, brother!' and that's how we got our name.

It's really rare that an entire genre of music allows an artist from a different genre to come and live there.

In New Orleans, people are still influenced by one another. You got these bands that play every week on Frenchmen Street, and on their breaks, they might go see the reggae band that's right next door. You might get the musicians from the reggae band to sit in with the brass musicians. Everyone is having fun.

In blues music, there's a lot of borrowing, so it's often difficult to identify the originator of a song.

Definitely, it would be foolish to try and make my Czech films here in America, as foolish as it is when some Czech filmmakers try to make movies of America in Czechoslovakia.

Clapton was just picking up ideas. He picked up some of mine like I picked up some from the people before me.

For me, the conductor is a person who interprets along with me, and we interpret things together.