I would rather write 10,000 notes than a single letter of the alphabet.

I have never thought of writing for reputation and honor. What I have in my heart must come out; that is the reason why I compose.

Beethoven can write music, thank God, but he can do nothing else on earth.

I carry my thoughts about with me for a long time... before writing them down... once I have grasped a theme. I shall not forget it even years later. I change many things, discard others, and try again and again until I am satisfied; then, in my head... [the work] rises, it grows, I hear and see the image n front of me from every angle... and only the labor of writing it down remains... I turn my ideas into tones that resound, roar, and rage until at last they stand before me in the form of notes.