Let us not err through false modesty, and let us hold fast to the true, which is much more difficult to practice and far more rare to find. The artist in our sense, should be neither the servant nor the master of the public. He remains the bearer of the beautiful in the inexhaustible variety which is appointed to human thought and perception—and this inviolable consciousness alone assures his authority.
That in composing I do not quite work at haphazard and grope about in the dark as my opponents in so many quarters reproach me with doing, will be gradually acknowledged by those among them who may be honest enough not to wish entirely to obstruct a right insight into the matter through preconceived views. As I have been for years conscious of the artistic task that lies before me, neither consistent perseverance nor quiet reflection shall be wanting for the fulfilment of it. May God's blessing, without which nothing can prosper and bear fruit, rest on my work!
Music is the natural medium of emotional expression; feelings that stifle utterance, too strong to be conveyed in simple words, are breathed melodiously to the hearts of men in the universal language of music. —Austin.
