A Mini-Compendium of Statements That Linger in the Memory...

I thought that a brief overview of remarks, made by both artists and other world figures during the past century, would serve as a vehicle of interest to the reader:
OSCAR LEVANT(after an especially deft performance of a Chopin Etude) - "See?? I TOLD you that I was the 2nd best pianist! I won't tell you who the best pianist is - it'll make a lot of guys really angry.
LUDWIG VON BEETHOVEN -"Handel - the greatest composer of them all ."  (I've often wondered about his choice of Handel, rather than Bach...)
FREDERICK CHOPIN(reportedly his final utterance) - "I was cursed with a short life and a long nose."
BELA BARTOK - "Competitions are meant for horses, not artists."
PETER TCHAIKOVSKY -" Just finished poring over the music of Brahms - that artless bastard."
ADOLF HITLER - "I trust that God will look upon me favorably concerning  the task I am about to undertake."
JOSEF STALIN - "Only the unborn are innocent."
JOSEF STALIN(part of an order disseminated to his military) - "Those who move forward; some may die. For those who take one step backward, they will certainly die."
STANLEY LAUREL JEFFERSON{on his deathbed) - "I'd rather be skiing." It's known that this legendary comedian did not ski. He is best known as Stan Laurel.
VICTOR BORGE(after a rather poor performance of a Rachmaninoff Prelude) - I don't know THAT one."
PABLO PICASSO(after a Nazi officer had asked him if he had actually done the mural Guernica, Picasso looked directly into the eyes of the soldier and said quietly, "No - YOU did."

Just a taste of a considerable number  of statements you can find, if you decide to hunt them down.