“Works of art make rules. Rules do not make works of art.”

"There is hardly any money interest in art, and music will be there when money is gone"

"I would rather write 10,000 notes than a single letter of the alphabet.”

If I didn't do this well, I just wouldn't have anything to do... I can't cook, and I'd be a terrible housewife.

I have spent my life judging the distance between American reality and the American dream.

A composer is a guy who goes around forcing his will on unsuspecting air molecules, often with the assistance of unsuspecting musicians.

“Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted.”

I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones.”