The person who works and is never bored is never old. Work and interest in worthwhile things are the best remedy for age.

I don't have hobbies. I have passions.

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

As long as one can admire and love, then one is young forever.

Throughout my career, nervousness and stage-fright have never left me before playing. And each of the thousands of concerts I have played at, I feel as bad as I did the very first time.

To live is not enough; we must take part.

To be a musician is a great privilege but it is also a very great responsibility. One must think that to be a musician is a gift - a gift from Nature. There is no great merit in us except in loving this gift with respect and devotion and doing everything possible to honor that gift by work and more work. We must work with conviction and humility, searching for beauty, simplicity, and the Truth. And it is for us musicians to do all in our power for a better world. Music must carry the message of beauty, of love and of peace.