I always wanted to be a film composer. So very early on I started collecting soundtracks and paying attention to how movie music works. Actually I'd like to have the opportunity to conduct for the rest of my life.
I don't mind conducting the orchestra if I can play the violin.
People still call me the eternal amateur. After all, professionals are supposed to be able to conduct everything. But I can't unless I feel some connection inside. Conducting is not an end in itself for me.
You can't expect someone born into a family with no music... to understand when I'm conducting the Schoenberg Variations.
I always felt that one day I would have to make the change in my own life, bite the bullet and see what it is to be a composer who conducts rather than the other way around.
I never like to conduct, quite honestly, because you have to be a bit of a dictator and it's exhausting.
Everybody finished the song at different times. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest. 'Ah music,' he said, wiping his eyes. 'A magic beyond all we do here!
I think the best publicity I can get for my music is to conduct it.
