I Would Rather Have Ideas And Some

It Is My Aim, My Destination In Life To Make The Cello As Beloved An Instrument As The Violin And Piano.

I Never Studied, But I Had The Best Teachers.

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

The Artist Must Forget The Audience, Forget The Critics, Forget The Technique, Forget Everything But Love For The Music. Then, The Music Speaks Through The Performance, And The Performer And The Listener Will Walk Together With The Soul Of The Composer, And With God.

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.