I liked the opera very much. Everything but the music.

The old idea of a composer suddenly having a terrific idea and sitting up all night to write it is nonsense. Nighttime is for sleeping.

Music does not excite until it is performed.

Composing is like driving down a foggy road.

It is cruel, you know, that music should be so beautiful.

Composing is like driving down a foggy road toward a house. Slowly you see more details of the house-the color of the slates and bricks, the shape of the windows. The notes are the bricks and the mortar of the house.

I liked the opera very much. Everything but the music.