Charles Munch

“The conductor must be a despot, but a benevolent one.”

“The score is a roadmap, but the conductor must choose the path.”

“You must love the music more than you love yourself.”

“The silence between the notes is as important as the notes themselves.”

“A concert is a ceremony, a ritual. It is not just entertainment.”

“To conduct is to hold the tempo of life in your hands.”

“I am not a German conductor. I am a French conductor.”

“Berlioz is fire, color, and passion. You cannot conduct him with cold reason.”

“Technique should be so perfect that it is forgotten.”

“The conductor's first job is to get the orchestra to play what is written. His second job is to get them to play what is not written.”