The attraction of the virtuoso for the public is very like that of the circus for the crowd. There is always the hope that something dangerous may happen.

Composers aren't daring enough. They're afraid of that sacred idol called 'common sense', which is the most dreadful thing I know - after all, it's no more than a religion founded to excuse the ubiquity of imbeciles!

If I am not making music, I have no reason for existing.

Some people wish above all to conform to the rules, I wish only to render what I can hear.

People come to music to seek oblivion: is that not also a form of deception?

Peter Townsend Music is the silence between the notes.. So could it be said that dance is the stillness between the steps?

On those who overanalyze his music: When you tear the wings off a butterfly, it is no longer a butterfly