Quotes from Bela Bartok

It may well be that some composers do not believe in God. All of them, however, believe in Bach.

Competitions are for horses, not artists.

It is odd that the Bible says, 'God created man,' whereas it is the other way round: man has created God. It is odd that the Bible says, 'The body is mortal, the soul is immortal,' whereas even here the contrary is true: the body (its matter) is eternal; the soul (the form of the body) is transitory.

Competitions are for horses, not artists.

By the time I had complete my 22nd year, I was a new man - an atheist.

I cannot conceive of music that expresses absolutely nothing.

In art there are only fast or slow developments. Essentially it is a matter of evolution, not revolution.