An operetta is simply a small and gay opera.
I was a crazy young man who let himself be blinded by his passions and obeyed only the impulses of the moment.
To write a symphony is, for me, to construct a world.
That which draws us by its mystical force; what every created thing, even the very stones, feels with absolute certainty as the center of its being... is the force of love. Christians call this "eternal blessedness." It is a necessity of man for growth and joy.
Tradition is laziness.
It is easier to achieve a desired result in short pieces.