[On the music of Richard Strauss:] Too many notes!

To study music, we must learn the rules. To create music, we must break them.

The essential conditions of everything you do must be choice, love, passion.

Life is denied by lack of attention, whether it be to cleaning windows or trying to write a masterpiece.

It is nothing to succeed if one has not taken great trouble, and it is nothing to fail if one has done the best one could.

Loving a child doesn't mean giving in to all his whims; to love him is to bring out the best in him, to teach him to love what is difficult.

The art of music is so deep and profound that to approach it very seriously only is not enough. One must approach music with a serious rigor and, at the same time, with a great, affectionate joy.

Do not take up music unless you would rather die than not do so.

Do nothing for effect. Do it for truth.

Without discipline, there can be no freedom.

Nothing is better than music; when it takes us out of time, it has done more for us than we have the right to hope for.

Desire without action will collapse all hope built inside.

Your gift of positive influence will open the eyes of many people. They'll be able to recognise their personal values which will lead them to live authentic lives and achieve the impossible.

Sharing is sometimes more demanding than giving.

China and India will take the global leadership on climate change: they are suffering for it.

After a youth and manhood passed half in unutterable misery and half in dreary solitude, I have for the first time found what I can truly love--I have found you.

You can always tell when something is good, because the studio senses it has something good, and you can see them pour more and more resources into it. The promotion gets bigger and bigger.

The vision that you glorify in your mind, the Ideal that you enthrone in your heart - this you will build your life by, this you will become.

We all can be masters at our craft, but you have to make sacrifices that come along with making that decision.

[People] felt good even though they didn't really know much about [Barack Obama] and may have had some doubts.

I really believe life is simple. It's all the other people that make things complicated.