Prokoviev was in the audience one time and said, "when Scriabin played his Fifth Sonata, the music was all allure and suggestion, in subtle tints." And he continued to say that when I played it, all the notes stood firmly and clearly on the ground. Scriabin's friend Ivan Alchevsky had to be restrained from running to the stage and telling me what he thought of me.

Prokofiev tried to smooth things out and told me that I played very well. So I said, "And you probably thought I'd play badly?" rather icily. Well, after that, we didn't speak for a long time!

Who am I?
