Gerald Finzi

“I feel that for an artist to be going all his life in a state of ferment and revolution is as unseemly as for a man to be in a continual state of adolescence.”

“The work of a composer is not to invent tunes but to release the music that is already there in the words.”

“The most important thing for a composer is to have a voice of his own.”

“A composer’s output is just the sum of his limitations.”

“What I believe is that the only thing that can give us any peace of mind, is the re-integration of the arts and everyday life.”

“The art of the past is not something to be put in a glass case and revered.”

“It is no good to be clever. It is no good to be original. There is only one thing: to be true to oneself.”

“The artist is the only one who knows he is an artist.”