"Do you know that my very first experience as a composer was a 'Concerto for Accordion?'"

"For a solo work I need a definite idea. For the present I have none."

"For almost thirty years I repeatedly saw one and the same dream: I would arrive in Vienna at long last. I would feel really happy, for I was returning to my serene childhood."

"I am not facing the problem of emigration. I want my music to be acknowledged here first of all, in this country: after that, we shall see - perhaps the question will than become urgent."

"I would wake up in Moscow or somewhere else, my heart beating fast, feeling bitter and helpless."