Nothing primes inspiration more than necessity, whether it be the presence of a copyist waiting for your work or the prodding of an impresario tearing his hair.

Give me a laundry list and I'll set it to music.

How wonderful opera would be if there were no singers.

If Beethoven is a prodigy of man, Bach is a miracle of God.

Music is a kind of harmonious language.

Beethoven I take twice a week, Haydn four times, and Mozart every day.

Nothing primes inspiration more than necessity.