There is nothing like practice.

I think that of my 21 symphonies, each has its own place.

I was much more interested in the orchestra than the piano, but I did become fairly proficient as a pianist and my teachers felt I had talent and wanted me to become a good concert pianist and earn my living that way.

There is nothing like practice.

To me, atonality is against nature. There is a center to everything that exists. The planets have the sun, the earth, the moon.

It's hard for me to think of others because I'm not particularly in sympathy with the music of this century.

My mother's background was Scottish. She came from an old family, some of whom lived in upper New York State and some of whom had come over from Scotland.