Where would I be without Johann Strauss's beautiful 'Blue Danube?' Without this piece of music I wouldn't be the man I am today. It's a tune that brings out the emotion in everyone and makes them want to waltz.
The waltz can be sad and at the same time uplifting. You have to see life from both sides, and the waltz encapsulates that. If you're in my audience you give yourself to me and the waltz will grab you.
The waltz is a very important part of my life. It's a very important way for me to express my positiveness, bringing humor to the world.
We should make decisions in life with our hearts, not our brains, not only in music but in daily life.
I was a fat child and loved cake, perhaps because it was the only sweet thing in my life.
People don't come to my concerts because they know the program. They come because they love the atmosphere and because they know that when I offer them a program it will be a night they never forget.
I know that when I like music, when it touches my heart, that it will touch your heart, too. That, I think, is the secret to my success.
I admire Johann Strauss a lot. I believe he was a genius of his time.
I have 120 people in my payroll without any government giving me any money. We live off the tickets and the records I sell. That is very unusual.
I'm an un-healable positive optimist.
I believe that music in itself heals and that everything is about the power of the mind. I thought if you are happy, you don't get ill. Your health is in your head. When you are satisfied with your work, you don't get ill.
When my twin grandchildren, Linda and Lyeke, were born two years ago, it changed me. I felt it was the essence of what life is about, and I cried all day. When my son Pierre, their father, was born I didn't cry like that.
The classical music world is so snobbish.
I think there are people who use classical music to say, 'I am better than you, because I know all the rules and you don't.' You're not allowed to have fun or entertain.
Now, I've changed my life to make sure I work only on what I love.
I have two speeds, nothing and full pelt.
Other people might want a Ferrari, but I wanted a butterfly house. I built it together with a blacksmith. We designed it together.
It is my personality alone that has brought back the waltz and made it a global craze.
I first picked up a violin aged five - I just assumed everyone played.
Critics or musicians who attack me are jealous of my success and the fact that I make people feel so happy.
