Mozart often wrote to his family that certain variations or sections of pieces were so successful that they had to be encored immediately, even without waiting for the entire piece to end.

Applause should be an emotional response to the music, rather than a regulated social duty.

We should welcome applause whenever it comes.

I have been coming to Los Angeles since 1975 to perform.

When one plays a Steinway, there is a warmth and nobility in the sound that is unequalled by any other instrument.

I have always thought that my ear is also very influenced by my eyes.

Pianists don't argue too much generally because we have a hard enough time just getting things right. Arguing is for string players.

We seem to have set up some very arcane rules as to when it is actually OK to applaud.

Sometimes I wish that applause would come just a bit later, when it is so beautifully hushed that I feel like holding my breath in the silence of the end.

All of us love applause, and so we should - it means that the listener likes us!

The sheer force of the music calls for a wild audience reaction.

Unwavering incremental change can create remarkable and monumental results.

The devil is always around the corner.

I'd rather be a freak than a clone.

When I pray coincidences happen and when I don't they don't.

(A Foreign Secretary) is forever poised between the cliche and the indiscretion.

Arrogance is, as it were, a solicitation on the part of one seeking honor for followers, whom he thinks he is entitled to treat with contempt.

Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness.

Like the oxytocin you get as a mom makes you forget everything constantly. And I'm a totally different person after having a kid.

The attraction and superiority of California are in its days. It has better days & more of them, than any other country.

I conquered a fear of heights and water by bungee jumping from a crane over a lake. And if thats not crazy enough, I also wrestled a greased pig in a mud pit.