The first thing to do in life is to do with purpose what one purposes to do.

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.

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

The art of not playing in tempo--one has to learn it. And the art of not playing what is written on the printed paper.

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.

It takes courage for people to listen to their own goodness and act on it.

There is no substitute for work; what seems ease of performance comes from the greatest labor.