We all return. It is this certainty that gives meaning to life and it does not make the slightest difference whether or not in a later incarnation we remember the former life. What counts is not the individual and his comfort, but the great aspiration to the perfect and the pure which goes on in each incarnation.

Destiny smiles upon me but without making me the least bit happier.

The call of love sounds very hollow among these immobile rocks.

I was a crazy young man who let himself be blinded by his passions and obeyed only the impulses of the moment.

Never let oneself be guided by the opinion of one's contemporaries. Continue steadfastly on one's way.

Beauty and fullness of tone can be achieved by having the whole orchestra play with high clarinets and a carefully selected number of piccolos.

What I wanted and what I visualized while composing has not always been realized.