You may be sitting in a room reading this book. Imagine one note struck upon the piano. Immediately that one note is enough to change the atmosphere of the room - proving that the sound element in music is a powerful and mysterious agent, which it would be foolish to deride or belittle.

If you want to know about the Sixties, play the music of The Beatles.

Inspiration may be a form of superconsciousness, or perhaps of subconsciousness - I wouldn't know. But I am sure it is the antithesis of self-consciousness.

Someone once asked me... whether I waited for inspiration. My answer was: "Every day!"

Composers tend to assume that everyone loves music. Surprisingly enough, everyone doesn’t.

Most people use music as a couch; they want to be pillowed on it, relaxed and consoled for the stress of daily living. But serious music was never meant to be soporific.

So long as the human spirit thrives on this planet, music in some living form will accompany and sustain it and give it expressive meaning.