“The true violin did not appear until about the year 1550. It did not reach its eminent position in the musical world until the late seventeenth century.”

“It is unlikely you will truly get the feeling of the violin until you have been studying for at least a year -- perhaps even two. Then one day the sheer pleasure of playing the instrument will suddenly flow over you. Perhaps it will be when you hear a fine string quartet. Maybe the revelation will come at the concert of an outstanding string orchestra, or better yet, when you are asked to sit in one made of boys and girls your own age. In any case, you will hear the singing strings clearly -- perhaps for the first time -- as the pure, jubilant spirit of music.”

“She sighed heavily before whispering, “I’m still a bit confused as to what we are waiting for.” “We are waiting for one of the constants in our world, Miss Braun,” Wellington assured her. “At the end of every opera, there is the grand finale, where the music continues its gradual crescendo, the tenor and tempo rising ever so gradually for that pinnacle of dramatic tension, that moment of anticipation—” “Welly, are you talking about opera or about sex?” His next words caught in his throat. For a woman of higher tastes and seeming refinement, this woman could be utterly crass.”

“Be that as it may, we were--and no doubt, still are--held under scrutiny, with that whole Phoenix Society brouhaha. It is imperative we remain on our best behaviour, a feat that you did not exactly manage effortlessly with your shenanigans in Edinburgh.”

“When you find yourself wondering, "How did I wind up here, on this Earth, in this life?" Try imagining that you came to dance. You simply tired of sitting this one out, and said, "Yes, I'd love to!" So you jumped up and began to create rhythm - back and forth, up and down. That's the dance of being alive.”

“18th century scientists, the French in particular, seldom did things simply if an absurdly demanding alternative was available.”

“Irony--it's funny until it happens to you.”