I do not think a day passes in my life in which I fail to look with fresh amazement at the miracle of nature.

To retire is to begin to die.

The love of one's country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border? There is a brotherhood among all men. This must be recognized if life is to remain. We must learn the love of man.

For me, Bach is like Shakespeare. He has known all and felt all. He is everything.

For twelve years I studied and worked at them every day, and I was nearly 25 before I had the courage to play one of them in public. Before I did, no violinist or cellist had ever played a Suite in its entirety.

Music must serve a purpose; it must be a part of something larger than itself, a part of humanity.

Resist doing things that have no meaning for life.