"I learned at an early age that I was given something special when I was born, and that was the gift of music"

"Music is my religion"

"Music is the shorthand of emotion"

"Given the choice, children who don't want for anything will not save... We have an obligation as parents to give our children what they need. What they want we can give them as a special gift, or they can save their money for it"

"Hope... is the companion of power, and the mother of success; for who so hopes has within him the gift of miracles"

"A gift, with a kind countenance, is a double present"

"My heart, which is so full to overflowing, has often been solaced and refreshed by music when sick and weary"

"Humor is the first of the gifts to perish in a foreign tongue"

"Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift"

"Without culture, and the relative freedom it implies, society, even when perfect, is but a jungle. This is why any authentic creation is a gift to the future"

"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away"