True music must repeat the thought and inspirations of the people and the time.

It sounds simple, of course, but personally I can think of no more mentally arduous task than making music.

I didn't even start playing the piano until I was about 13 or 14. I guess I must have had a little talent or whatever-you-call-it, but I practised regularly, and that's what counts.

True music must repeat the thought and inspirations of the people and the time.

A skyscraper is at the same time a triumph of the machine and a tremendous emotional experience, almost breath-taking. Not merely its height but its mass and proportions are the result of an emotion, as well as of calculation.

Jazz I regard as an American folk music; not the only one, but a very powerful one which is probably in the blood and feeling of the American people more than any other style of folk music.

The extraordinary thing about my mother, she's so modest about me.