I love a tree more than a man.

Life would be flat without music. It is the background to all I do. It speaks to the heart in its own special way like nothing else.

The world is a king, and like a king, desires flattery in return for favor; but true art is selfish and perverse — it will not submit to the mold of flattery.

I know of no more sacred duty than to rear and educate a child.

Rossini would have been a great composer if his teacher had spanked him enough on his backside.

Artists are fiery; they do not weep.

This is not a brook [Bach means "brook" in German], it's an ocean.