A conductor should guide rather than command.

- Riccardo Muti

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

- Riccardo Muti

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 …

- Riccardo Muti

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

- Riccardo Muti

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

- Riccardo Muti

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

- Riccardo Muti

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

- Riccardo Muti

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

- Riccardo Muti

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

- Riccardo Muti