Quotes by Riccardo Muti

• A conductor should guide rather than command.
• You have to channel the interpretation and performance into 100 people. And with the audience, the critics.
• You have to be able to enthral and persuade at the same time.
• The conductor's stand is not a continent of power, but rather an island of solitude.
• Nobility of spirit has more to do with simplicity than ostentation, wisdom rather than wealth, commitment rather than ambition.
• It is extraordinary to have time to again study Le nozze di Figaro and discover new things.
• I'm not shy in the spotlight. I might seem austere and even arrogant, but far from it, I'm actually shy.
• I don't want to bother them and ruin the party they are preparing so carefully at La Scala.
• I have closed that page of my life without rancor. I do not disown any of the work done.