In the nineteenth century the more grandiose word inspiration began to replace the word idea in the arts.

It is obvious that anything a scientist discovers or invents is based on previous discoveries and inventions. The same applies to the arts.

To come to grips with creativity, I must ask creative, adventurous questions - the kind which, in all likelihood, cannot be answered.

To me, Mozart is our Shakespeare, the one who wrote the most dramatic, psychologically most baffling music. He combined ideas that no one else would have thought of putting together.

I strongly suggest that we play down basics like who influenced whom, and instead study the way the influence is transformed, in other words: how the artist made it his own.

To understand Mozart's contradictory qualities would indeed be to understand genius.

Most artists have experienced the creative block. We get stuck in our work. We beat our head against the wall: nothing. Sometimes, it is because we are trying something at the wrong time.