I Came To Moscow When I Was

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.

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.

I Would Rather Have Ideas And Some Difficulties Of Technique Than A Perfect Technique And No Ideas.

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.

People Are Craving This Great Progress In Electronics, Going After Computers, The Internet, Etc. It's A Giant Progress Technologically. But They Must Have A Balance Of Soul, A Balance For Human Beauty. That Means Art Has An Important Role.