I normally don't do requests. Unless, of course, I have been asked to do so.

One afternoon, when I was four years old, my father came home, and he found me in the living room in front of a roaring fire, which made him very angry. Because we didn't have a fireplace.

When I was a little boy and played Liebestraum, my father used to hit me on the head with a newspaper every time I slopped the cadenza . . . I hate Liebestraum.

In my youth, I wanted to be a great pantomimist -- but I found I had nothing to say.

He was happily married - but his wife wasn't.

That's why I've never thought of retiring because I do it all the time whether on the stage or off. I found that in a precarious situation, a smile is the shortest distance between people. When one needs to reach out for sympathy or a link with people, what better way is there?

The difference between a violin and a viola is that a viola burns longer.