We ought to think that we are one of the leaves of a tree, and the tree is all humanity. We cannot live without the others, without the tree.

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

Music will save the world.

Of course, I continue to play and to practice. I think I would do so if I lived for another hundred years.

Don’t be vain because you happen to have talent. You are not responsible for that; it was not of your doing. What you do with your talent is what matters.

The cello is like a beautiful woman who has not grown older, but younger with time, more slender, more supple, more graceful.

If you play Bach every day, you are not so alone.