In Bach, the vital cells of music are united as the world is in God.
To write a symphony is, for me, to construct a world.
I have become a different person. I don't know whether this person is better, he certainly is not happier.
It's not just a question of conquering a summit previously unknown, but of tracing, step by step, a new pathway to it.
If I weren't the way I am, I shouldn't write my symphonies.
With the coming of spring, I am calm again.