Think Independently Quotes by Mstislav Rostropovich

Capitalism, communism ... it's all garbage.

— Mstislav Rostropovich

Every man must have the right fearlessly to think independently and express his opinion about what he knows, what he has personally thought about…

— Mstislav Rostropovich

Now I come to 75 years of age, I think what's most important in life is your conscience. If you told a lie and…

— Mstislav Rostropovich

I have a very deep religious belief.

— Mstislav Rostropovich

You must play for the love of music. Perfect technique is not as important as making music from the heart.

— Mstislav Rostropovich

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

— Mstislav Rostropovich

All my life I wanted to play music with love to every member of the audience.

— Mstislav Rostropovich

The war years were the most difficult time of my life. There was real famine in Moscow. The water froze inside the houses. There…

— Mstislav Rostropovich

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

— Mstislav Rostropovich

In 1948 the first severe crash occurred in my life when Stalin put out his decree on 'formalism.' There was a bulletin board in…

— Mstislav Rostropovich

There is too much emphasis on technical perfection nowadays, and not enough on what music is actually about - irony, joy, human suffering, love.

— Mstislav Rostropovich

Now I want to use money in a good way. I make foundations back home in Russia, I have sponsored vaccinations for more than…

— Mstislav Rostropovich

Explain to me, please, why in our literature and art so often people absolutely incompetent in this field have the final word,

— Mstislav Rostropovich

I played with the best conductors of the world.

— Mstislav Rostropovich

Music is part of history, and our history has lessons that cannot be separated from our greatest music.

— Mstislav Rostropovich