It is my aim, my destination in life to make the cello as beloved an instrument as the violin and piano.

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.

When I started learning the cello, I fell in love with the instrument because it seemed like a voice - my voice.

The war years were the most difficult time of my life. There was real famine in Moscow. The water froze inside the houses. There was no heat.

You know creators, composers, need a palette for life, a color for life.

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 Shostakovich's compositions and Prokofiev's were no longer to be played.