It is better to invert reality than to copy it.

Stupid criticism and still more stupid praise.

I have striven for perfection, it has always eluded me, but I surely had an obligation to make one more try.

Oh, you happy sons of the North who have been reared at the bosom of Bach, how I envy you!

Oh blessed a thousand times the peasant who is born, eats and dies without anybody bothering about his affairs.

The artist must yield himself to his own inspiration... I should compose with utter confidence a subject that set my musical blood going, even though it were condemned by all other artists as anti-musical.

The success of our operas rests most of the time in the hands of the conductor. This person is as necessary as a tenor or a prima donna.