I change many things, discard others, and try again and again until I am satisfied; then, in my head, I being to elaborate the work in its breadth, its narrowness, its height, its depth...I hear and see the image in front of me from every angle as if it had been cast and only the labour of writing it down remains.

Oh, how beautiful it is to be alive - would that I could live a thousand times

The vibrations on the air are the breath of God speaking to man's soul. Music is the language of God. We musicians are as close to God as man can be. We hear his voice, we read his lips, we give birth to the children of God, who sing his praise. That's what musicians are.

In the world of art, as in the whole of creation, freedom and progress are the main objectives.

Even in poverty I lived like a king for I tell you that nobility is the thing that makes a king

From the glow of enthusiasm I let the melody escape.

What you are, you are by accident of birth; what I am, I am by myself. There are and will be a thousand princes; there is only one Beethoven.