Art demands of us that we shall not stand still.

I carry my thoughts about with me for a long time... before writing them down... once I have grasped a theme. I shall not forget it even years later. I change many things, discard others, and try again and again until I am satisfied; then, in my head... [the work] rises, it grows, I hear and see the image n front of me from every angle... and only the labor of writing it down remains... I turn my ideas into tones that resound, roar, and rage until at last they stand before me in the form of notes.

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.

In the country It seems as if every tree Said to me 'Holy! Holy!' Who can ever express The ecstasy of the woods! Almighty One, In the woods I am blessed. Happy every one in the woods. Every tree speaks through Thee. O God! What glory in the woodland.

Oh continue to love me, never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved. Ever thine. Ever mine. Ever ours.

Handel is the greatest composer that ever lived... I would uncover my head and kneel down on his tomb.

The foundation of friendship demands the greatest likeness of human souls and hearts.