I have always believed that 98% of a student's progress is due to his own efforts, and 2% to his teacher.

The vocal cord will be eliminated by a process of evolution, as was the tail of man when he came from the ape.

My success is not due to any personal superiority over other people.

No nation as young as America can be expected to become immediately a power in the arts.

I firmly believe that we have more latent musical talent in America than there is in any other country. But to dig it out there must be good music throughout the land, a lot of it. Everyone must hear it, and such a process takes time.

Anybody can write music of a sort. But touching the public heart is quite another thing.

American teachers have one indisputable advantage over foreign ones; they understand the American temperament and can judge its unevenness, its lights and its shadows.