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

It's not just a question of conquering a summit previously unknown, but of tracing, step by step, a new pathway to it.

The spirit can assert itself only through the medium of clear form.

The real art of conducting consists in transitions.

I beg of you... never assume an inner or an outer pose, never a disguise.

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.