I would rather have ideas and some difficulties of technique than a perfect technique and no ideas.
Mstislav RostropovichThere is too much emphasis on technical perfection nowadays, and not enough on what music is actually about - irony, joy, human suffering, love.
Mstislav RostropovichThe cello is a hero because of its register - its tenor voice. It is a masculine instrument, whereas the violin is feminine because of its soprano pitch. When the cello enters in the Dvorak Concerto, it is like a great orator.
Mstislav Rostropovich