“I do not play for others‐only for myself and in the service of the composer. It makes no difference to me whether there's an audience or not. When I sit at the keyboard, I am lost. And I think of what I play, and of the sound that comes forth, which is a product of the mind. Today's young musicians are afraid to think. They do everything in order not to think. Animals are better off. At least they possess instinct. Man has lost his instincts‐he has lost contact with himself. Before an artist can communicate anything, he must first face himself. He must know who he is. Only then can he prepare to make music.”

-Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, 1977