He was just trying to tease me - I knew that later - but he said he'd have to leave because it wasn't fair to have anyone in the room who was going to make fun of what he had to say. He had a good sense of humor really.
It has to be able to play at the maximum expression and communication in every style and the only way you can do that is - like Verdi said - working with a file every day little by little until the orchestra's collective qualities emerge.
