To Me The Highest Thing, After God,

I Have Always Reckoned Myself Among The Greatest Admirers Of Mozart, And Shall Do So Till The Day Of My Death.

I Shall Hear In Heaven.

In The World Of Art, As In The Whole Of Creation, Freedom And Progress Are The Main Objectives.

Everything Should Be At Once Surprising And Inevitable.

I Carry My Thoughts About With Me For A Long Time... Before Writing Them Down... Once I Have Grasped A Theme. I Shall Not Forget It Even Years Later. I Change Many Things, Discard Others, And Try Again And Again Until I Am Satisfied; Then, In My Head... [the Work] Rises, It Grows, I Hear And See The Image N Front Of Me From Every Angle... And Only The Labor Of Writing It Down Remains... I Turn My Ideas Into Tones That Resound, Roar, And Rage Until At Last They Stand Before Me In The Form Of Notes.