I am Jewish, but Beethoven is my religion.

Music was our food... When we can play, it can't be so terrible. The music, the music!

Everything is a present. Everything. This I learned to be thankful for everything.

Hatred eats the soul of the hater, not the hated.

I felt that this is the only thing which helps me to have hope... a sort of religion, actually. Music is God.

Only when we are so old, only, are we aware of the beauty of life.

I think I am in my last days, but it doesn't really matter because I have had such a beautiful life. I have lived through many wars and have lost everything many times - including my husband, my mother and my beloved son. Yet, life is beautiful, and I have so much to learn and enjoy. I have no space nor time for pessimism and hate. Life is beautiful, love is beautiful, nature and music are beautiful. Everything we experience is a gift, a present we should cherish and pass on to those we love.