Every man has his faults; I have and so have you - you will allow me to say so!
— Clara Schumann
I do not want horses or diamonds - I am happy in possessing you.
Is an artist much more than a beggar?
There is nothing greater than the joy of composing something oneself and then listening to it.
The tea is ice-cold, the room grows colder and colder, but I grow warmer and warmer.
I cannot be so bad when everybody is so fond of me.
I wish to lead a life free from care, and I see that I shall be unhappy if I cannot always work at my art.
My health may be better preserved if I exert myself less, but in the end doesn't each person give his life for his calling?
Treasures are no longer to be got by instrumental art.
I cannot give a single concert at which I do not play one piece after the other in an agony of terror because my memory threatens to fail me. This fear torments me for days beforehand.
If I have known much trouble in my youth, I have also known much joy.
My imagination can picture no fairer happiness than to continue living for art.
Why hurry over beautiful things? Why not linger and enjoy them?
