Providence conceals itself in the details of human affairs, but becomes unveiled in the generalities of history.

A conscience without God is like a court without a judge.

There is a woman at the beginning of all great things.

To love for the sake of being loved is human, but to love for the sake of loving is angelic.

I think my personality is not because I was born this way but because I was raised this way. I was raised with a lot of fun, a lot of joy, a lot of happiness, a lot of passion, and that's how my family is.

I did have a very restricted, regimented life. There was a kind of happiness there, a contentment, but it was a small happiness within very clear and delineated borders.

I am the conductor for life of the Staatskapelle in Berlin, which fills me with tremendous joy because I feel absolutely at one with them. When we play, I have a feeling that together we manage to create one collective lung for the whole orchestra so that everybody in the stage breathes the music in the same way.

We will be more successful in all our endeavors if we can let go of the habit of running all the time, and take little pauses to relax and re-center ourselves. And we'll also have a lot more joy in living.