Poets and heroes are of the same race, the latter do what the former conceive.

The true art of memory is the art of attention.

An artist's duty is rather to stay open-minded and in a state where he can receive information and inspiration. You always have to be ready for that little artistic Epiphany.

I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to.

Everything in the universe has a rhythm, everything dances.

Every work of art is an uncommitted crime.

Artistic temperament is a disease that afflicts amateurs.

Art! Who comprehends her? With whom can one consult concerning this great goddess?

Intellectual passion drives out sensuality.

Music with dinner is an insult, both to the cook and the violinist.

Art is never finished, only abandoned.

Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.

Adding sound to movies would be like putting lipstick on the Venus de Milo.

Nature scarcely ever gives us the very best; for that we must have recourse to art.

I can't listen to that much Wagner. I start getting the urge to conquer Poland.

Rhythm is something you either have or don't have, but when you have it, you have it all over.

I think another thing is that we don't really want exclusivity. We accept that it is in the artist's interest to be on sale in every place where they sell music.

Critics are the men who have failed in literature and art.

People ask me how I make music. I tell them I just step into it. It's like stepping into a river and joining the flow. Every moment in the river has its song.

The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.

The absence of limitations is the enemy of art.