"I think we're about ready for a new feeling to enter music. I think that will come from the Arabic world."

"There are certain sounds that I've found work well in nearly any context. Their function is not so much musical as spatial: they define the edges of the territory of the music."

"We are increasingly likely to find ourselves in places with background music. No composers have thought to write for these modern spaces, which represent 30% of our musical experience."

"Musicians are there in front of you, and the spectators sense their tension, which is not the case when you're listening to a record. Your attention is more relaxed. The emotional aspect is more important in live music."

"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time."

"An hour spent in deep contemplation is worth a year of unguided wandering. For where clarity resides, peace inevitably follows."

"Great minds are related to the brief span of time during which they live as great buildings are to a little square in which they stand: you cannot see them in all their magnitude because you are standing too close to them."

"The greatest journey starts when kindness can heal wounds that time cannot."