Ravel [...] occupies a considerable place in modern music. I knew him as a child and have always taken an interest in his work. I confess to my shame—that I didn't think him capable of publicly acknowledging that he owes me a lot. I was very moved by it.

From a letter to his brother Conrad, 1911. As reported in: Composers on Music: Eight Centuries of Writings (UPNE, 1997), p. 224