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

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

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

Now I want to use money in a good way. I make foundations back home in Russia, I have sponsored vaccinations for more than one million children in my homeland and I have founded scholarships in the names of my great Russian compatriots - Oistrakh, Richter, Gilels, Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Schnittke.

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

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

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