I Played With The Best Conductors Of

I Never Studied, But I Had The Best Teachers.

Now I Want To Use Money In A Good Way. I Make Foundations Back Home In Russia, I Have Sponsored Vaccinations For More Than One Million Children In My Homeland And I Have Founded Scholarships In The Names Of My Great Russian Compatriots - Oistrakh, Richter, Gilels, Shostakovich, Prokofiev And Schnittke.

Capitalism, Communism ... It's All Garbage.

The Cello Is A Hero Because Of Its Register - Its Tenor Voice. It Is A Masculine Instrument, Whereas The Violin Is Feminine Because Of Its Soprano Pitch. When The Cello Enters In The Dvorak Concerto, It Is Like A Great Orator.

In 1948 The First Severe Crash Occurred In My Life When Stalin Put Out His Decree On Formalism. There Was A Bulletin Board In The Moscow Conservatory. They Posted The Decree, Which Said Shostakovichs Compositions And Prokofievs Were No Longer To Be Played.