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.

In order to create there must be a dynamic force, and what force is more potent than love?

The principle of the endless melody is the perpetual becoming of a music that never had any reason for starting, any more than it has any reason for ending.

Invention presupposes imagination but should not be confused with it.

Just as appetite comes by eating, so work brings inspiration, if inspiration is not discernible at the beginning.

The real composer thinks about his work the whole time; he is not always conscious of this, but he is aware of it later when he suddenly knows what he will do.

Lesser artists borrow, great artists steal.