[on The Music Of Richard Strauss:] Too

Great Art Likes Chains. The Greatest Artists Have Created Art Within Bounds. Or Else They Have Created Their Own Chains.

Do Not Take Up Music Unless You Would Rather Die Than Not Do So.

Nothing Is Better Than Music; When It Takes Us Out Of Time, It Has Done More For Us Than We Have The Right To Hope For: It Has Broadened The Limits Of Our Sorrowful Life, It Has Lit Up The Sweetness Of Our Hours Of Happiness By Effacing The Pettinesses That Diminish Us, Bringing Us Back Pure And New To What Was, What Will Be, What Music Has Created For Us.

As Far As The Execution Is Concerned ... The Most Frequent And Most Serious Mistake Is To Follow The Music Instead Of Preceding It.

The History Of Harmony Is The History Of The Development Of The Human Ear, Which Has Gradually Assimilated, In Their Natural Order, The Successive Intervals Of The Harmonic Series.