There is nothing so fatal to character as half-finished tasks

Each of my symphonies has a fresh character with a specific definition of their own.

Doing nothing is very hard to do...you never know when you're finished.

J'ai un but, une tâche, disons le mot, une passion. Le métier d'écrire en est une violente et presque indestructible."

("I have an object, a task, let me say the word, a passion. The profession of writing is a violent and almost indestructible one.")

[Letter to Jules Boucoiran, 4 March 1831]

Music is essentially useless, as life is: but both have an ideal extension which lends utility to its conditions.

Music is essentially useless, as life is.