I miss the standard of the New York Philharmonic's playing very much. It has certainly been a high point in my life.

The 'New York Times' reviews of my work have been evenly divided - favourable and unfavourable.

The New York Philharmonic is a tremendous opportunity, a great orchestra.

New York for a long time was a kind of conductor's graveyard.

New York is really the place to be; to go to New York, you're going to the center of the world, the lion's den.

It seems always to have been difficult to have been a New York Philharmonic conductor because of the nature of New York. We are in direct competition with the great orchestras in the world who come to play in our hall or in Carnegie, and we are constantly compared. I think that 's a good thing.