"There ought to be but one large art warehouse in the world, to which the artist could carry his art-works, and from which he could carry away whatever he needed. As it is, one must be half a tradesman…"

"I despise the world because it does not understand that music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy."

"Never break the silence if it is not to improve upon it."

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

"There are and will be thousands of princes; there is only one Beethoven."