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Just by my home is an entrance to the sewers they used in the Warsaw uprising. I grew up knowing people died down there. Warsaw was once a battleground; then it became a morgue. It's a city littered with ghosts. And that never left me.

I've been lucky enough to stand on both poles, but the place that seemed the remotest to me was Butugychag, a former gulag in Siberia. It is completely cut off from the rest of the world.

I decided to create a sports club during the Soviet times. It was my dream.

I always needle a bit when people say I'm a champion of the Poles, because I've always had a very multinational view of Poland.

I did a long concert tour in England and Denmark and Sweden, and I also sang for the Soviet people, one of the finest musical audiences in the world.

I did a concert... in September with the Berlin Philharmonic... They're great musicians, and there's always something to learn from them.

I've been to some of the most amazing cities in the world.

In Berlin I especially enjoyed the orchestral concerts, and I attended a large number of them. I formed the acquaintance of a good many musicians, several of whom spoke of my playing in high terms.

The best thing about Berlin was that I got to be surrounded by people who pursue their ideas for themselves.

I love the dancers in the Bolshoi, but all of my Moscow friends are outside the company. A friend introduced me to Vika Gazinskaya, a well-known Russian designer. I met her group. The rest is history.