The very essence of success is practice.
Ah, that tastes nice. Thank you.
One should never forget that by actually perfecting one piece one gains and learns more than by starting or half-finishing a dozen.
Without craftsmanship, inspiration is a mere reed shaken in the wind.
In my study I can lay my hand on the Bible in the pitch dark. All truly inspired ideas come from God. The powers from which all truly great composers like Mozart, Schubert, Bach and Beethoven drew their inspirations is the same power that enabled Jesus to do his miracles.
Reviewer: 'One of your themes was very similar to one of Beethoven's!' Brahms replied, 'Of course it is. Everyone steals - the important thing is to do it brilliantly.
Study Bach. There you will find everything.
Why are women so fond of raking up the past? They're as bad as tailors, who invariably remember what you owe them for a suit long after you've ceased to wear it.
Every single art form is involved in film, in a way.
I've been writing as long as I've been able to form words. I never wrote with an idea of publishing anything until I began working on '[To Kill a] Mockingbird'. I think that what went before may have been a rather subconscious form of learning how to write, of training myself.
I'm not really looking for theater work. But if somebody approaches me with enthusiasm, I might respond.