On Wagner's Musical Evolution
"Wagner changed very much, like every great composer. They were born, maybe, being geniuses, but they had to discover all their abilities and their special style. What you do as a young artist is to try to imitate others — you try to do the same as others around you were successful with. Once you feel more mature and self-confident, then you try to create your own style. That's what every musician actually tries to do. Later on, you just try to sound like you."
On the dynamism of Parsifal
"You have the first act and the third act, which are very — I don't want to call them traditional, not at all — but the harmonies are, most of the time, very settled and very regular. You know in which direction he will go; [it's] a little bit predictable. But in the second act, suddenly, it's as if if somebody has opened Pandora's box, or the door to hell! It's never stable, it never stays in one key, in one harmony. It goes back and forth all the time, wildly."
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