Clara Schumann

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. ”

Is an artist much more than a beggar? ”

Why hurry over beautiful things? Why not linger and enjoy them? ”

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? ”

My imagination can picture no fairer happiness than to continue living for art. ”

If I have known much trouble in my youth, I have also known much joy. ”

There is nothing greater than the joy of composing something oneself and then listening to it. ”

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. ”