George Gershwin

"Folk music, jazz, and classical - they're not enemies, they're family."

"If you're not growing as an artist, you're dying as an artist."

"Collaboration made me understand that two minds are better than one's ego."

"I believe music should make people want to dance or dream or love."

"Tradition is important, but innovation is what keeps art alive."

"The best compliment is when someone says my music made them feel something."

"I wanted to write music that was American without trying to be American."

"Every composer stands on the shoulders of those who came before."

"The piano is a democracy - anyone can play it if they work hard enough."

"I never wanted to repeat myself. Each work had to be a new journey."

"Music connects us to something bigger than ourselves."

"The best songs come from genuine emotion, not calculation."

"I learned that popularity and artistry can coexist with integrity."

"Living in New York gave me access to every musical tradition at once."

"A melody that gets stuck in your head has done its job."

"I believed American music could compete with anything from Europe."

"The worst thing an artist can do is imitate instead of innovate."

"Ira understood lyrics the way I understood melodies - we were one mind."

"Music is democracy at its best - everyone has access to feeling."

"I wanted my rhapsody to capture the speed and energy of modern life."

"Hard work beats talent when talent isn't willing to work hard."

"The greatest joy is creating something that didn't exist before."

"You can't write a great song about nothing - you need something real."

"I loved the spontaneity of jazz because it mirrored real life."

"An artist's responsibility is to their vision, not the marketplace."

"Every collaboration taught me something I couldn't have learned alone."

"The beauty of symphonic jazz is that it respects both forms."

"I fought against the idea that you had to choose between art and commerce."

"Melodies come from listening to how people speak and feel around you."

"Theater audiences taught me what actually connects with human hearts."