Some entertaining (and blunt!) bits from 75-year-old piano virtuosa Mitsuko Uchida in a 2024 New York Times interview by Javier Hernández:

How do you see your artistry in this phase of your career?

My artistry? Excuse me? I live one day at a time.

What do you mean?

Do you think I am navel-watching every day, or what? Excuse me, I am a musician. I am not anybody that important or anything. I just want to understand music. That’s all.

...

Did you change at all during the pandemic?

I bet I have. But I am not self-analyzing.

Did it change your routine?

I was so happy to be home. I love not to travel. For once, I could afford to waste my time. It was fantastic.

What do you do now in your free time?

When I am free, I am at home and I study or play music. I want to have time to think. And you need to breathe and to dream.

When you take time to dream, do you have revelations about life or music?

I never have revelations in my life. Or if I do, I won’t tell you.