Art is the opposite of chaos. Art is organized chaos.

I was born out of due time in the sense that by temperament and talent I should have been more suited for the life of a small Bach, living in anonymity and composing regularly for an established service and for God.

I know that the twelve notes in each octave and the variety of rhythm offer me opportunities that all of human genius will never exhaust.

I have learned throughout my life as a composer chiefly through my mistakes and pursuits of false assumptions, not by my exposure to founts of wisdom and knowledge.

All music is nothing more than a succession of impulses that converge towards a definite point of repose.

Silence will save me from being wrong (and foolish), but it will also deprive me of the possibility of being right.

Good composers don't borrow, they steal