The miracle of Bach has not appeared in any other art. To strip human nature until its divine attributes are made clear, to inform ordinary activities with spiritual fervour, to give wings of eternity to that which is most ephemeral; to make divine things human and human things divine; such is Bach, the greatest and purest moment in music of all time.

To retire is to begin to die.

Do we dare be ourselves? That is the question that counts.

The first thing to do in life is to do with purpose what one purposes to do.

Bach is the supreme genius of music... This man, who knows everything and feels everything, cannot write one note, however unimportant it may appear, which is anything but transcendent. He has reached the heart of every noble thought, and has done it in the most perfect way.

Music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart.

The only weapons I ever had were my cello and my baton.