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" In England, unless I am mistaken, I think some of the politicians who love classical music and opera are a bit loath to be seen there in case people think it is elitist. That is a real shame because it also means we are not allowing our politicians a hinterland that an earlier generation, a Denis Healey, would have taken for granted. "

Simon Rattle

Love

People

Music

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" Conductors start getting good when everybody else retires. "

" Conductors make too much fuss about conductors! Humility and hard work are virtues. We're nothing without our musicians. "

" One of the most difficult things in opera is for people to suspend disbelief. "

" Conducting 'Tristan' is like floating in amniotic fluid, but having worked on it for three months, I now know why people who go near it go so strange. "

" As an older dad you can certainly get down on the floor. The problem is can you get up again? "

Simon Rattle

Older

You

" Passionate musicians only come from passionate five-year-olds. "

" I believe if you're not completely in love with what you're doing, you'd better find another profession. "

" Every orchestra has its own sound. "

" I was a harpsichordist in my teens, and there was a bunch of us in Liverpool who got together every week to play Bach. "

" Nobody has Francis Bacon on their walls in their house - or very few people - but sometimes people listen to Beethoven as though it was background and a comfort, and I think that is very dangerous. "

" If you receive a whole string of bad reviews, you have to say, 'O.K., maybe there's something here we should pay attention to.' "

" We need to bring music to the people, even to those who normally do not listen to classical music. "

" American economists can't understand the German fear of inflation and the effects of inflation when dealing with the world economic crisis. They wonder why Germany pursues such a different course - 'Why can't they agree with us?' I would have thought it was fairly obvious. "

" You don't like Liverpool: you either loathe it or you love it. And I don't know anyone who loathes it and comes from it. "

" The grapevine in England is an extraordinary thing. When there is a really brilliant young composer or soloist, we all hear about it. "

" I am old enough to remember the enormous fight over Tate Modern. It is such a part of our cultural landscape now, we forget the opposition to it. "

" Liverpool is off the side of the known universe, and it always was. New York is the only other place comparable. "

" I'd be much more likely to watch the latest Tarantino movie than to listen to a Mahler symphony. "

Simon Rattle

Symphony

Watch

" The better the orchestra, often the harder it is to conduct, not the other way around. "

" Beethoven was always too much. He's not slightly anything - he's very everything. "

" As a nation, we English tend to be self-deprecating, looking down on ourselves. We're insular but also flexible, whereas in Germany, it's a case of besser wissen - we know better. That's very Deutsch. People are never frightened to tell you what you're doing wrong, in a way that would never happen in England. "

" My worst and best qualities are rashness: the good part of it is due to youth, which is, of course, why I'm not a great conductor. "

" Germans have an understanding of history and cannot allow themselves to forget it. It may be a curse, but in some ways, it's a blessing. It makes them cautious. "

" Yes, I was a weird duck, no doubt. "

" I think Beethoven means dissonances to be more stressed than consonances - it's the shock tactician in him. "

Simon Rattle

Stressed

Than

" It's interesting: composers can be very funny ducks. "

" As a Liverpool boy, it is impossible not to think of the Beatles' question, 'Will you still need me when I'm 64?' "

Simon Rattle

Think

Need

" Always the journey, never the destination. "

" Orchestras are like people. They're the sonic embodiment of their community. "

Simon Rattle

Community

People