-
Though there is such a rich tradition of culture and arts, I have never been invited to perform at a concert in South India.
-
I miss the standard of the New York Philharmonic's playing very much. It has certainly been a high point in my life.
-
I am not only a Parsi, I am a Kashmiri too.
-
We are so indebted to our ancestors, musically speaking, that they have left us 400 years of music.
-
Why does Israel always have to suffer for others to feel bad for it?
-
In truth, I became a conductor because deep down I wanted to conduct Brahms's four symphonies and Richard Strauss's tone poems.
-
I feel growing up in Mumbai is an advantage, as we grow up speaking so many languages that when we go abroad, it becomes easier to learn new languages.
-
Wagner's philosophy had absolutely nothing to do with Bruckner. Bruckner hadn't written a single word against Jews. Wagner's book on the Jews was one of the most infamous books of the 19th century.
-
Open rehearsals reach people who might not otherwise hear the Philharmonic - people on fixed incomes, people who can't move easily at night, students.
-
As soon as, say, Saddam Hussein started bombing Israel with Scuds, everyone was like, 'Poor Israel.' But when Israel retaliates - and most of the time they then win - people turn against them.
-
I am an Indian, so I do yoga.
-
I respect the Indian government for the fact that there are no settlements in Kashmir.
-
In Bombay, we have a fine concert hall. I think it is high time we built venues in Delhi and Calcutta, not only for western music, but also Indian music. It doesn't matter which party is in power; don't you think the capital of India should have a concert hall?
-
I am jealous of all those people who live on the shore of Dal Lake.
-
My parents had chosen the medical profession for me. I even studied a few semesters at St Xavier's College, but at the back of my mind, I always wanted to be a musician like my father.
-
The 'New York Times' reviews of my work have been evenly divided - favourable and unfavourable.
-
I feel very friendly towards your country, but make no mistake I will always be an Indian first.
-
I'm very much tied to the state of Israel, but I am against their policy of settlements in Palestine.
-
American musicians are very giving - they have the highest standard in the world - but they are also very demanding in their conditions.
-
There is a school in Israel called Hand in Hand which I support. There Arab and Jewish students study together on a daily basis.
-
Rock music is predictable, unless there's great talent involved.
-
There are three orchestras in Munich, all world-quality, in a city of one million. Yet every hall is full.
-
All these people who scream about Kashmir being an armed camp are in fact responsible for keeping it that way.
-
It seems always to have been difficult to have been a New York Philharmonic conductor because of the nature of New York. We are in direct competition with the great orchestras in the world who come to play in our hall or in Carnegie, and we are constantly compared. I think that 's a good thing.