The Greatest Respect An Artist Can Pay

The Only Weapons I Ever Had Were My Cello And My Baton.

Bach Is The Supreme Genius Of Music... This Man, Who Knows Everything And Feels Everything, Cannot Write One Note, However Unimportant It May Appear, Which Is Anything But Transcendent. He Has Reached The Heart Of Every Noble Thought, And Has Done It In The Most Perfect Way.

Every Wrong Seems Possible Today, And Is Accepted. I Don't Accept It.

I Am A Very Simple Man. I Am A Man First, An Artist Second. My First Obligation Is To The Welfare Of My Fellow Man. I Will Endeavour To Meet This Obligation Through Music, Since It Transcends Language, Politics And National Boundaries.

For The Past Eighty Years I Have Started Each Day In The Same Manner. It Is Not A Mechanical Routine, But Something Essential To My Daily Life. I Go To The Piano, And Play Two Preludes And Fugues Of Bach. I Cannot Think Of Doing Otherwise. It Is A Sort Of Benediction On The House. But That Is Not Its Only Meaning For Me. It Is A Rediscovery Of The World Of Which I Have The Joy Of Being A Part. It Fills Me With Awareness Of The Wonder Of Life, With A Feeling Of The Incredible Marvel Of Being A Human Being.