Believe me, my sole purpose is to make as much money as possible; for after good health it is the best thing to have.

Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.

My dear sister! I’m amazed to discover that you can compose so delightfully. In a word, your Lied is beautiful. You must compose more often.

When I am traveling in a carriage, or walking after a good meal, or during the night when I cannot sleep; it is on such occasions that ideas flow best and most abundantly.

The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.

Now there is music from which a man can learn something.

I choose such notes that love one another.