It is my fervent wish and my greatest ambition to leave a work with a few useful instructions for the pianists after me.

I am not fond of speaking about politics because I don't have in my possession an army of 200,000 soldiers.

Music embodies feeling without forcing it to contend and combine with thought, as it is forced in most arts and especially in the art of words.

In life one must decide whether to conjugate the verb to have or the verb to be.

It is my fervent wish and my greatest ambition to leave a work with a few useful instructions for the pianists after me.

I foster a sorrowful conception of affection. Make no sacrifices.

I carry a deep sadness of the heart which must now and then break out in sound.