We cling nervously to the melody, but we don't handle it freely, we don't really make anything new out of it, we merely overload it.

How lucky is the man who, like Mozart and others, goes to the tavern of an evening and writes some fresh music. For he lives while he is creating.

One should never forget that by actually perfecting one piece one gains and learns more than by starting or half-finishing a dozen.

Without craftsmanship, inspiration is a mere reed shaken in the wind.

It is not hard to compose, but what is fabulously hard is to leave the superfluous notes under the table.

It is not hard to compose but it is wonderfully hard to let the superfluous notes fall under the table. . . So many melodies fly about, one must be careful not to tread on them.

My things really are written with an appalling lack of practicality!