I simply make music, and people have always been foolish enough to pay me for it. I never told them that I would have done it all for nothing.

A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence.

Conscience is that which hurts when everything else feels marvelous.

The highest reaches of music come thrillingly close to the central core and essence of life itself.

As a boy I remember how terribly real the statues of the saints would seem at 7 o'clock Mass-before I'd had breakfast. From that I learned always to conduct hungry.

Music appeals to me for what can be done with it.

On matters of intonation and technicalities I am more than a martinet - I am a martinetissimo.

The opportunity to do what is right is available at all times.

There isn't a simple person anywhere in this world.

(The great questions of the day) are not decided by speeches and majority votes but by blood and iron.

I always wanted to be different and do things differently. I was a pain in the neck. I was challenging everything you wanted me to do and challenging people in school.

This afternoon, I've arranged for this ceremony to be illuminated by solar power.

We hate most in others what we dislike in ourselves.

Truth has always been found to promote the best interests of mankind.

Execution gets divided into two key questions: 1) can you figure out what to do and 2) can you get it done.

Algebra is nothing more than geometry, in words; geometry is nothing more than algebra, in pictures.

You have to be vigilant about keeping your own fire alive.