42 Quotes by Lukas Foss

As I sit down and start to work, I often panic. I stare at the empty piece of music paper. How can I say that my piece will be ready for performance next January when I do not have a recipe for making it happen?

Most artists have experienced the creative block. We get stuck in our work. We beat our head against the wall: nothing. Sometimes, it is because we are trying something at the wrong time.

Any creator owes a debt to past creation.

I don't dare postulate about science, but I know that it takes both emotion and intellect in order for art to happen.

I still do not know where the notes will come from when I accept a commission for a new work.

To come to grips with creativity, I must ask creative, adventurous questions - the kind which, in all likelihood, cannot be answered.

To understand Mozart's contradictory qualities would indeed be to understand genius.

Composing is like making love to the future.

It is the element I miss in electronic music - no performance, no loving immersion. Maybe that is why I was never particularly drawn to electronic music.