The trick is to compose what one wants to compose and to get it commissioned afterward.
Igor StravinskyI take no pride in my artistic talents; they are God-given and I see absolutely no reason to become puffed up over something that one has received.
Igor StravinskyThe further one separates himself from the precepts of the Christian Church, the further one distances himself from the truth. Only God can create. I make music from music.
Igor StravinskyI cannot now evaluate the events that, at the end of those thirty years, made me discover the necessity of religious belief. I was not reasoned into my disposition. Though I admire the structured thought of theology, it is to religion no more than counterpoint exercises are to music.
Igor Stravinsky