Lukas Foss

“There is another interesting paradox here: by immersing ourselves in what we love, we find ourselves. We do not lose ourselves. One does not lose one's identity by falling in love.”

“I still do not know where the notes will come from when I accept a commission for a new work.”

“Yes, influences are enriching, and they can be found in every work of art, even the most original.”

“I strongly suggest that we play down basics like who influenced whom, and instead study the way the influence is transformed, in other words: how the artist made it his own.”

“It is obvious that anything a scientist discovers or invents is based on previous discoveries and inventions. The same applies to the arts.”

“Truth implies meaning.”

“It is the element I miss in electronic music - no performance, no loving immersion. Maybe that is why I was never particularly drawn to electronic music.”

“In the nineteenth century the more grandiose word inspiration began to replace the word idea in the arts.”

“My students frequently ask what their next project should be. My advice: immerse yourself in the music you love and you will find what you want to do; you will discover your next project.”

“Anybody can put things together that belong together. to put things together that don't go together, and make it work, that takes genius like Mozart's. Yet he is presented in the play Amadeus as a kind of silly boy whom the gods loved.”

“If one uses music that one does not really love, then one will not succeed in making it one's own.”

“Any creator owes a debt to past creation.”

“Since age seven, I've been composing and have never stopped composing, yet, the creative process is as elusive to me as it has ever been.”

“Personality is essential. It is in every work of art. When someone walks on stage for a performance and has charisma, everyone is convinced that he has personality. I find that charisma is merely a form of showmanship. Movie stars usually have it. A politician has to have it.”

“Most artists have experienced the creative block. We get stuck in our work. We beat our head against the wall: nothing. Sometimes, it is because we are trying something at the wrong time.”

“The best way to investigate the elusive phenomenon called the creative process may well be to target all the misconceptions, to explain what the creative process is not.”

“Great music does not just make me feel good. It means something. It makes us understand. It makes us happy.”

“When I went back to visit my native Berlin after World War II, I noticed that the only thing I really remembered from my childhood Berlin days is the shoe store.”

“As I sit down and start to work, I often panic. I stare at the empty piece of music paper. How can I say that my piece will be ready for performance next January when I do not have a recipe for making it happen?”

“The creative act is like writing a letter. A letter is a project; you don't sit down to write a letter unless you know what you want to say and to whom you want to say it.”