When I sit in Paris in a cafe, surrounded by people, I don't sit casually - I go over a certain sonata in my head and discover new things all the time.

The seasons are what a symphony ought to be: four perfect movements in harmony with each other.

When I play, I make love – it is the same thing.

It took great courage to ask a beautiful young woman to marry me. Believe me, it is easier to play the whole Petrushka on the piano.

When I was young, I used to have successes with women because I was young. Now I have successes with women because I am old. Middle age was the hardest part.

I am tired before the concert, not afterward.

Don't tell me how talented you are. Tell me how hard you work.