[On the music of Richard Strauss:] Too many notes!

Do not take up music unless you would rather die than not do so.

Without discipline, there can be no freedom.

Life is denied by lack of attention, whether it be to cleaning windows or trying to write a masterpiece.

[On being asked how it felt to be the first female conductor of the Boston Symphony:] I've been a woman for a little more than fifty years, and I've gotten over my original astonishment.

The Constitution of the United States is not a mere lawyers' document; it is a vehicle of life, and its spirit is always the spirit of the age.

The art of music is so deep and profound that to approach it very seriously only is not enough. One must approach music with a serious rigor and, at the same time, with a great, affectionate joy.