Music Should Strike Fire From The Heart

Music Is Like A Dream. One That I Cannot Hear.

Love, And Love Alone, Is Capable Of Giving Thee A Happier Life.

You Ask Me Where I Get My Ideas. That I Cannot Tell You With Certainty. They Come Unsummoned, Directly, Indirectly - I Could Seize Them With My Hands - Out In The Open Air, In The Woods, While Walking, In The Silence Of The Nights, At Dawn, Excited By Moods Which Are Translated By The Poet Into Words, By Me Into Tones That Sound And Roar And Storm About Me Till I Have Set Them Down In Notes.

My Misfortune Is Doubly Painful To Me Because It Will Result In My Being Misunderstood. For Me There Can Be No Recreation In The Company Of Others, No Intelligent Conversation, No Exchange Of Information With Peers; Only The Most Pressing Needs Can Make Me Venture Into Society. I Am Obliged To Live Like An Outcast.

It Is The Power Of Music To Carry One Directly Into The Mental State Of The Composer.