Since music has never had a Rembrandt, we have remained nothing more than musicians.

The composer makes plans, music laughs.

Do we have anything in music that really wipes everything out? That just cleans everything away?

If you think you might have secret information listening to me, you're lost.

For years I said if I could only find a comfortable chair I would rival Mozart.

Art in relation to life is nothing more than a glove turned inside out. It seems to have the same shapes and contours, but it can never be used for the same purpose. Art teaches nothing about life, just as life teaches us nothing about art.

I have a very dear friend, a great painter, called me up very upset, the work wasn’t going well… He asked me to come to his studio -- which I did -- I looked around at the work, dozens of sketches, drawings, large pictures, and I was very close to his work, intensely involved with his work, and he asked me, ‘What’s wrong?’ And I said, ‘Simple – it’s a loss of nerve.