I always consider myself lucky that I can actually cry listening to some music.

One of the most important elements in teaching, conducting, and performing, all three, is listening.

Sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left.

Never miss an opportunity to teach; when you teach others, you teach yourself.

One must always practice slowly. If you learn something slowly, you forget it slowly.

Another thing that I don't like to do is show too much how it goes. I do it once in a blue moon. Sometimes there are lessons when I don't pick up a violin at all.

The most important thing to do is really listen.

Ask many of us who are disabled what we would like in life and you would be surprised how few would say, 'Not to be disabled.' We accept our limitations.

Every musical phrase has a purpose. It's like talking. If you talk with a particular purpose, people listen to you, but if you just recite, it's not as meaningful.

When you play a concerto with a small orchestra, you don't feel it is as important as Carnegie Hall. You try to work out all the little problems. Once that's all done, trust comes in.

For every child prodigy that you know about, at least 50 potential ones have burned out before you even heard about them.

I laugh at what I used to think was cool when I was growing up. In all seriousness, I thought having braces was cool.

There is no substitute for a clear vision and a decisive direction.

Go and try to disprove death. Death will disprove you, and that's all!

Hatred is partial, but love is still more so.

Do you know the kind of things that live up there?...things without names 'cause no one who's seen 'em has lived long enough to give them any name besides 'AAAARG!

I don't watch television because I have a tiny baby daughter. I'm useless.

I like being vegan, I think it's good for my health.

When I remember my life in Russia it is in totally dark colours.

It's not a very big one, but at least it's dead and it took an awful lot of killing!

The worship of words is more pernicious than the worship of images. Grammatolatry is the worst species of idolatry.