“Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.”

“The point is not to take the world's opinion as a guiding star but to go one's way in life and working unerringly, neither depressed by failure nor seduced by applause.”

“With the coming of spring, I am calm again.”

“Spring won't let me stay in this house any longer! I must get out and breathe the air deeply again.”

“If a composer could say what he had to say in words he would not bother trying to say it in music.”

“The real art of conducting consists in transitions.”

“Of the two powers, the two categories that take possession of us when we enter the world, space is by far the less mysterious. . . . Space is, after all, solid, monolithic. . . . Time, on the other...”

“The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary master...”

“A human being is a part of the whole, called by us "Universe", a part limited in time and space.”

“You should not think on a small scale”

“For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love.”

“It doesn't sound that cool to say it, but I still get nervous for any show. But it's different degrees - playing a small basement of a club versus playing a festival like Firefly or Bonnaroo. The f...”

“Poetry is meant to be heard.”