The music of the Chinese people interests me greatly as a composer. In their music the people express their thoughts and feelings, their joys and sorrows, their happiness and love. Chinese music is original and distinctive. I have now learnt about many ancient musical instruments which I had never seen before; I listened to them and was delighted by the richness of their timbre and enormous emotional power. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the Chinese virtuoso musicians, playing on ancient instruments built in time out of mind. We were visited in Moscow, among representatives of other professions, by Chinese composers, whom we greeted as very welcome guests.