To play without passion is inexcusable!

No friend have I. I must live by myself alone; but I know well that God is nearer to me than others in my art, so I will walk fearlessly with Him.

Music is the mediator between the life of the senses and the life of the spirit.

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.

I have always reckoned myself among the greatest admirers of Mozart, and shall do so till the day of my death.

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

I alter some things, eliminate and try again until I am satisfied. Then begins the mental working out of this material in its breadth, its narrowness, its height and depth.