Art demands of us that we shall not stand still.

Only art and science make us suspect the existence of life to a higher level, and maybe also instill hope thereof.

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.

Music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from the eyes of woman.

Applaud my friends, the comedy is over... [on his death bed]

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

Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy. Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents.