Herbert Blomstedt led an extraordinary concert at the Salzburg Festival. (For my review, go here.) Then he joined the Salzburg Festival Society for a conversation. Blomstedt is an eminent Swedish conductor — born in America, actually — and he led the Vienna Philharmonic in a program of Sibelius and Bruckner. With me (moderating for the festival society), he talked about Sibelius, Bruckner, and many other issues in music, and in life.

Blomstedt studied in Salzburg from 1950 to 1952. He hates for anything to be made of his age — I don’t blame him — but he was born in 1927 (a good year for the Yankees), making him 91. He is a model of the energetic, serene, wise, feisty nonagenarian. In our talk, he quoted Picasso, who said, “It took me many years to become youthful.”

Have a listen, here. (As a bonus, you’ll hear plenty of singing from Blomstedt, in addition to storytelling, etc.)