“The melodic idea which suddenly falls upon me out of the blue appears in the imagination immediately, unconsciously, uninfluenced by reason. It is the greatest gift of the divinity and cannot be compared with anything else.”

—  Richard Strauss

On Inspiration in Music, pages 112-117 (originally written around 1903).
Recollections and Reflections

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Richard Strauss 31
German composer and orchestra director 1864–1949

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