Composers should write tunes that chauffeurs and errand boys can whistle.

At a rehearsal I let the orchestra play as they like. At the concert I make them play as I like.

Elgar's first symphony is the musical equivalent of St Pancras Railway Station.

"Have you heard any Stockhausen?" Beecham was asked. "No, but I believe I have stepped in some."

As you'll never hear the thing again, my boy, why not throw in a couple of brass bands?

The function of music is to release us from the tyranny of conscious thought.

Too much counterpoint; what is worse, Protestant counterpoint.