Riccardo Muti quotes:

Soccer and sports are entertainment ... You can't call Beethoven's 9th Symphony or a work of Shakespeare `entertainment.' It's not `entertainment.' It's culture.

A conductor should guide rather than command.

I'm not shy in the spotlight. I might seem austere and even arrogant, but far from it, I'm actually shy.

Nobility of spirit has more to do with simplicity than ostentation, wisdom rather than wealth, commitment rather than ambition.

It is extraordinary to have time to again study Le nozze di Figaro and discover new things.

The conductor's stand is not a continent of power, but rather an island of solitude.

Music does not know the difference between people; it only speaks to their hearts. It is the only form of communication that can bring this terrible world together.

You have to channel the interpretation and performance into 100 people. And with the audience, the critics.

You have to be able to enthral and persuade at the same time.