"We liked it" or "I didn't like it" people say. As if it were nothing higher than to please the people!

You will be most readily cured of vanity or presumption by studying the history of music, and by hearing the master pieces which have been produced at different periods.

We shouldn't repeat the same for ages on end, but look into the new as well.

For me Wagner is impossible... he talks without ever stopping. One can't just talk all the time.

For me, music is always the language which permits one to converse with the Beyond.

My heart pounds sickeningly and I turn pale... I often feel as if I were dead... I seem to be losing my mind.

Think it a vile habit to alter works of good composers, to omit parts of them, or to insert new-fashioned ornaments. This is the greatest insult you can offer to Art.