I think anything that is expressed directly and as honestly as possible will last.

There is something inherent in our democracy that tends to want to level. America is a little uncomfortable in the presence of someone who is distinctly superior in whatever way.

I was trying to do something that seemed very natural and easy but which bridged that gulf between the singing voice and the speaking voice.

I think anything that is expressed directly and as honestly as possible will last.

Our most intimate contact with civilizations long since dust has been through the art which has survived them.

I found a certain kind of music congenial to me; it never occurred to me to write music that was academically acceptable.

The artist is something of an outsider in America. I have always felt that America does not value its artists, certainly not in the sense that the Europeans do.