"I have never been able to flatter people; I am too blunt for that."

"Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy."

"A musician is a musician because he lives the music. Not just plays it. But lives it. And if he doesn't live it, he is nothing."

"I have no friend. I must live alone. I know that I am closer to God than other artists; I commune with Him in my art."

"I will seize Fate by the throat; it shall certainly not bend me completely to its will."