It is my aim, my destination in life to make the cello as beloved an instrument as the violin and piano.

You must play for the love of music. Perfect technique is not as important as making music from the heart.

When I started learning the cello, I fell in love with the instrument because it seemed like a voice - my voice.

There is too much emphasis on technical perfection nowadays, and not enough on what music is actually about - irony, joy, human suffering, love.

All my life I wanted to play music with love to every member of the audience.

I would rather have ideas and some difficulties of technique than a perfect technique and no ideas.

Capitalism, communism ... it's all garbage.

Explain to me, please, why in our literature and art so often people absolutely incompetent in this field have the final word.

I like coming to the United States because the United States played an important role in my life.

I never studied, but I had the best teachers.

You know creators, composers, need a palette for life, a color for life.

If a woman tells you how terrible she looks, sincerely deny it, even if you agree.

Nothing is wrong in taking medicine when you’re sick, but something is wrong if It is been taking by you to cure the headache of another.

Letter-writing on the part of a busy man or woman is the quintessence of generosity.

Sometimes a beautiful face is false advertising

I'm not brave enough to be a coward; I see the consequences too clearly.

Prodigality of Time produces Poverty of Mind as well as of Estate.

The nasty little secret was that I couldn't read worth a darn. In my case, I still read very slowly to this moment.

It's not easy to know who you are and it's very painful and takes a lot of time and that is why a lot of people don't want to put in the effort.

I don't want nothing comin' at me that I can't stop.

Christ on a cracker. You raped Achilles!