When you play Bach like Chopin, and Chopin like Bach, something good happens.

I have always regarded manual labour as creative and looked with respect-and, yes, wonder-at people who work with their hands. It seems to me that their creativity is no less than that of a violinist or painter.

Don't play the notes. Play the meaning of the notes.

Music will save the world.

The simplest things in music are the ones that count. The simplest thing are, of course, also the most difficult to achieve and take years of work.

You do not lose your value or preciousness when you grow to be a adult. You are still that miraculous creation. You must work, we must all work, to make the world worthy of its children.

The only weapons I ever had were my cello and my baton.