Dimitri Mitropoulos

“Mahler is a mountain, and you must climb it. The view from the top is worth the effort.”

“There are two kinds of conductors: those who have the score in their head and those who have their head in the score.”

“I never use a score when conducting my orchestra... Does a lion tamer enter a cage with a book on how to tame a lion?”

“The moment you become a conductor, you have to put your hands in your pockets and spiritually die.”

“You have to hurt yourself, to give your blood, to be a conductor.”

“Every rehearsal is a concert for me. It is a moment of truth.”

“In art, we are all anarchists.”

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