Richard Strauss

"I am not one to compose long melodies as did Mozart. I can’t get beyond short themes. But what I can do, is utilize such a theme, paraphrase it and extract everything that is in it, and I don’t think …"

":7. It is not enough that you yourself can hear every word the soloist sings - you know it off by heart anyway: the audience must be able to follow without effort. If they do not understand the words …"

"In my opinion, Gustav Mahler's work is one of the most important and interesting products in the history of modern creative arts."

"Mozart's melodies, Beethoven's symphonies, Schubert's songs, acts two and three of Tristan are symbols in which are revealed the most profound spiritual truths. They are not "invented", but are "given…"

":2. You should not perspire when conducting: only the audience should get warm."

":1. Remember you are making music not to amuse yourself but to delight the audience."

"Producers of opera nowadays usually make the mistake of translating each particular orchestral phrase into terms of a movement on the stage. In this matter one should proceed with a maximum of caution…"

"It is clear to me that the German nation will achieve new creative energy only by liberating itself from Christianity"