Those who foresee the future and recognize it as tragic are often seized upon by a madness which forced them to commit the very acts which make it certain that what they dread will happen.

I have no faith in the sense of comforting beliefs which persuade me that all my troubles are blessings in disguise.

Great music is in a sense serene; it is certain of the values it asserts.

Idiocy is the female defect ... It is no worse than the male defect, which is lunacy.

Were it possible for us to wait for ourselves to come into the room, not many of us would find our hearts breaking into flower as we heard the door handle turn.

I had a glorious father, I had no father at all.

Music is part of human life and partakes of the human tragedy. There is much more music in the world than is allowed to change into heard sounds and prove its point.