Beethoven, Wagner, Bach, and Mozart settled down day after day to the job in hand. They didn’t waste time waiting for inspiration.

Ernest Newmanwas an English music critic and musicologist. Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians describes him as “the most celebrated British music critic in the first half of the 20th century.” His style of criticism, aiming at intellectual objectivity in contrast to the more subjective approach of other critics, such as Neville Cardus, was reflected in his books on Richard Wagner, Hugo Wolf, Richard Strauss and others.