George Gershwin

"The magic of music lies in its universality."

"Every composer stands on the shoulders of giants."

"Art is the language of the soul."

"Truth in music is recognizable by its beauty."

"I have always believed that talent is not inborn but developed through dedication."

"The greatest compositions come from living a full life."

"Music is the shorthand of emotion."

"Passion without discipline is just noise."

"I dream in melodies and wake to compose them."

"The key to mastery is understanding the rules well enough to break them."

"A composer's job is to capture the spirit of his time."

"I have faith that melody will never die."

"The strongest people are those who admit they are still learning."

"Beauty is found in the unexpected harmony of elements."

"Every era produces the music it deserves."

"I compose to understand myself better."

"The world needs more beauty, not less."

"Music is mathematics translated into emotion."

"I believe in the power of a single perfect phrase."

"Greatness is not achieved, it is chosen through dedication."

"Life is a lot like jazz - it's better when you improvise."

"The real American folk song is a rag - that's where our soul is."

"I don't think there's been enough change in music - we need more experimentation."

"Inspiration is a guest that does not willingly visit the lazy."

"The man I'd most like to be is George Bernard Shaw - because he's George Bernard Shaw."

"All the Gershwin tunes that have ever been written by me were written with the idea of finally achieving success."

"In creating music, one must have imagination to add that essential element of poetry."

"The public doesn't want new music; the main thing it demands of a composer is that he be dead."

"I've written perhaps a couple of hundred songs and several concert works."

"Jazz I regard as an American folk music; not a foreign dialect, but the voice of America itself."