I want to be able to depict in music a glass of beer so accurately that every listener can tell whether it is a Pilsner or a Kulmbacher.

If you think that the brass is not blowing loud enough, mute it by a couple of degrees.

Must one become seventy years old to recognize that one's greatest strength lies in creating musical kitsch?

I shall never be converted, and I shall remain true to my old religion of the classics until my life's end.

Never look at the trombones, you'll just encourage them.

Ideas, like young wine, should be put in storage and taken up again only after they have been allowed to ferment and to ripen.

On conducting: If you can just barely hear the French horns on stage, the balance is perfect.