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You get more nervous in front of a lot of people. That's why, when you play a concerto, you play with a small orchestra, in some place where you don't feel that it is as important as Carnegie Hall.

It's just that, when the orchestra look at me, I want them to see a completely involved person who reflects what we rehearsed, and whose function is to make it possible for them to do it.

You know, a lot of people are loath to go to an orchestral concert because they are intimidated by the thought.

It's like a whole orchestra, the piano for me.

I sort of enjoy being able to hear what other composers are doing and how they might score something differently than me. I enjoy that part.

In concertos, I stand up, and I conduct with the bow when I'm not playing. During symphonies, I sit, but sometimes I stop playing to conduct. Being seated in a section allows me to feel more like we're playing chamber music, which is how I like to approach it.

When facing symphonic orchestras which have played some works five thousands times, you have nothing to do.

I'm in a difficult position in the sense that, preposterous as this might sound, I don't like being the centre of attention. I get up on stage every night and play songs, but I almost feel the songs are the centre of attention. I don't like opening my birthday presents in front of people, either.

I currently spend a lot of time thinking about orchestration and every detail of a piece.

Playing in an orchestra is where I learned the most about music.