I had a year at 3 when I wanted to be a conductor in the opera.

There was that sound again–snap, then a footfall. She tried to whirl around as a dark form–Dear God–sprang with a splash from the darkness–grabbed her from behind, shoved her under the water.

For me, a paint brush is the only tool I use extensively in my works, to push paint on canvas and conduct melodies. And that’s exactly what Garden Avenue is, and all of my projects...

(From Boulez, an authorized biography by Joan Peyser)At the chapel door he [a priest associated with a school Boulez attended] asked me if what he had been told was true: that Boulez no longer believed...

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

He was making music – Howells, Finzi, Holst – so you could see the sounds in the serried air.Serried. Then just as suddenly empty when his sound-proof right hand closed off the notes.

The Prince stood beside the timpanist to count his rests for him and see that he came in in the right place. I suppressed all the trumpet passages which were clearly beyond the players’ grasp....

To lead by example is to offer your life as a living diarry for others to read. Never make your life pages blank; make some marks there. Many people are reading you.

During my stay in London I resided for a considerable time in Clapham Road in the neighbourhood of Clapham Common… One fine summer evening I was returning by the last bus ‘outside’ as usual, through...