In my development, there occurred a period when I had to reject Wagner, although he had theretofore been my idol. I once mentioned this to Mahler somewhat violently, and he replied that my feeling was known to him also, as there had been times when he rejected this or that musician. "But," he added, "one must not overstep oneself, since one always has to return to the great ones, who stand immovable in their place, and should theretofore always command one's respect."
~ Arnold Schoenberg,
From a speech on Gustav Mahler
(quoted by David Joseph Bach
in "A Note on Arnold Schoenberg,"
Musical Quarterly,
Vol. XXII, no.1, January 1936)
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