"The most stimulating and encouraging thought is that you, dearest father, and my dear sister, are well, that I am an …"

"A fellow of mediocre talent will remain a mediocrity, whether he travels or not; but one of superior talent (which wi…"

"I know myself, and I have such a sense of religion that I shall never do anything which I would not do before the who…"

"Mozart, particularly, I loved. I was determined to write poetry that had as a structure what classical music, particu…"

"I must give you a piece of intelligence that you perhaps already know — namely, that the ungodly arch-villain Voltair…"

"Sie wird das nothwendigste und härteste und die hauptsache in der Musique niemahlen bekommen, nämlich das tempo, weil…"

"It is a sobering thought that when Mozart was my age, he had been dead for two years."

"I write as a sow pisses."

"Lengthy immersion in the works of other composers can tire. The music of Mozart does not tire, and this is one of its…"

"As I love Mannheim, Mannheim loves me."