Art's the biggest vanity: the assumption that one's view of peace or fright or beauty is permanently communicable.
Ned RoremIf a composer could state in words what being a composer means, he would no longer need to be a composer.
Ned RoremThe Great don't innovate, they fertilize seeds planted by lackeys, they leave to others the inhaling of the flowers whose roots they've manured. A deceptive memory may be the key to their originality.
Ned Rorem