How wonderful opera would be if there were no singers.
Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind.
Nothing primes inspiration more than necessity.
If Beethoven is a prodigy of man, Bach is a miracle of God.
Wagner has lovely moments but awful quarters of an hour.
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.