I write [music] as a sow piddles.

My great grandfather used to say to his wife, my great-grandmother, who in turn told her daughter, my grandmother, who repeated it to her daughter, my mother, who used to remind her daughter, my own sister, that to talk well and eloquently was a very great art, but that an equally great one was to know the right moment to stop.

God is ever before my eyes. I realize his omnipotence and I fear His anger; but I also recognize his compassion, and His tenderness towards His creatures.

The most necessary, most difficult and principal thing in music, that is time.

I too had to work hard, so as not to have to work hard any longer.

As death, when we come to consider it closely, is the true goal of our existence . . .

You know that I immerse myself in music, so to speak- that I think about it all day long- that I like experimenting- studying- reflecting.