The principal task of a conductor is not to put himself in evidence but to disappear behind his functions as much as possible. We are pilots, not servants.

Music is the heart of life." She speaks love; "without it, there is no possible good and with it everything is beautiful.

In life one must decide whether to conjugate the verb to have or the verb to be.

Real men are sadly lacking in this world, for when they are put to the test they prove worthless.

I carry a deep sadness of the heart which must now and then break out in sound.

Beware of missing chances; otherwise it may be altogether too late some day.

My sole ambition as a composer is to hurl my javelin into the infinite space of the future.

In Hungary all native music, in its origin, is divided naturally into melody destined for song or melody for the dance.

Music embodies feeling without forcing it to contend and combine with thought, as it is forced in most arts and especially in the art of words.

Mournful and yet grand is the destiny of the artist.

A person of any mental quality has ideas of his own. This is common sense.

When we are able to realize that life is endless and not ephemeral and that life is transformational and not static—then all fears will vanish from our hearts.

Realities disguised as symbols are, for me, new realities that are immeasurably preferable. I make an effort to take them at their word. To grasp, to carry out the diktat of images to the letter.

So much is buried in our lives that we forget what we have learned.

Music is important for one's health.

I saw Danny Kaye in a movie, and he was doing voices and faces on that big, big screen and making whole audiences laugh. It was just an instant hookup.

Now any dogma, based primarily on faith and emotionalism, is a dangerous weapon to use on others, since it is almost impossible to guarantee that the weapon will never be turned on the user.

We need to really use the full force of diplomacy. And we need to be seen and understood to be on the side of diplomacy and international law.

I want.." she said, knowing what she wanted, feeling pulled toward it, arching toward it, but hardly knowing how to say it.

The higher the rope, the more thrilling it is to climb.

To me, reason is as spiritual as anything else, the beauty of reason seems to me indelible and ineffable and numinous... the spirit is after all the same word we use to describe... essence