Leila Josefowicz

Classical music has been based on works people love and come back to for aural comfort.

My goal would be trying to bring some light to the world, which is often a dark and violent place.

I suppose that's why new music and I go well together, because new music often requires maintaining great rhythm.

If I can add, say, 10 great new violin concertos to the repertoire before I'm done, that will be truly exciting.

When the music is physically demanding, I want to make sure that the effort involved is put across to the audience through physical gesture.

You're playing serious music, and you want to be taken seriously. When they get my age wrong on the program, I wish they'd make me older.

It's nice not to have the majority of the attention on me like there is when playing a concerto with an orchestra.

People, of all ages, are far more open than you might think to being moved in new ways.

I guess really what my goal is is just to enlarge the violin repertoire.

I think humor is important for all of us, and a great comedian is a great treasure.