It's not evil that's ruining the earth, but mediocrity. The crime is not that Nero played while Rome burned, but that he played badly.

If a composer could state in words what being a composer means, he would no longer need to be a composer.

I don't go to concerts much. I've heard everything. When I do go to movies, I walk out half the time. As for literature, I've read everything.

Art means to dare - and to have been right.

In music the present is extended.

Perfection is no more a requisite to art than to heroes. Frigidaires are perfect. Beauty limps. My frigidaire has had to be replaced.

Artists, by definition innocent, don't steal. But they do borrow without giving back.