“For a man so driven by idealism and emotion, he was shrewd as an actuary when it came to money and sometimes downright greedy. He was the highest paid soloist of his day, at $45,000 a night, and among the top conductors. He loved property and bought homes in Paris, Lausanne and London (later also in Moscow and St Petersburg), starting with a flat in Holloway and trading up to half a house in Maida Vale. Since he was never in the same town two weeks running, he made new friends in the street to do his house-sitting.”