I haven't a single friend; I must live alone. But well I know that God is nearer to me than to the others of my art; I associate with Him without fear, I have always recognized and understood Him, and I have no fear for my music,-it can meet no evil fate. Those who understand it must become free from all the miseries that the others drag with them.

The amount of money one needs is terrifying.

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

I will seize fate by the throat; it shall certainly never wholly overcome me.

Händel is the greatest and ablest of all composers; from him I can still learn.

A great poet is the most precious jewel of a nation.

I shall seize fate by the throat.