It is one thing to be gifted and quite another thing to be worthy of one's own gift.

The great conductor is always a despot by temperament and intractable in his ways. ... The artist is obliged to keep his laughter and tears to himself. If they want to emerge, in spite of himself, then he must hide them or unleash them in someone else.

Loving a child doesn't mean giving in to all his whims; to love him is to bring out the best in him, to teach him to love what is difficult.

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

As far as the execution is concerned ... the most frequent and most serious mistake is to follow the music instead of preceding it.

There is nothing boring in life except ourselves.

It is easier to analyze a work in its form, in its evolution, than simply to love it with all the living forces of our heart. It is easier to define its peculiarities and its details than to draw out of it its emotion, its thought.