I Sometimes Ponder On Variation Form And

The Idea Comes To Me From Outside Of Me - And Is Like A Gift. I Then Take The Idea And Make It My Own - That Is Where The Skill Lies.

Never Criticize The Composition Of A Royal Highness. You Never Know Who May Have Written It.

Straight-away The Ideas Flow In Upon Me, Directly From God, And Not Only Do I See Distinct Themes In My Mind's Eye, But They Are Clothed In The Right Forms, Harmonies, And Orchestration.

It Is Not Hard To Compose But It Is Wonderfully Hard To Let The Superfluous Notes Fall Under The Table. . . So Many Melodies Fly About, One Must Be Careful Not To Tread On Them.

We Cling Nervously To The Melody, But We Don't Handle It Freely, We Don't Really Make Anything New Out Of It, We Merely Overload It.