I compose because I must, not because I can.

It is better to be misunderstood than to not be true to one’s art.

One must learn how to listen to the silence between the notes.

Art is not for those who seek applause; it is for those who seek meaning.

I have always reckoned myself among the greatest admirers of Mozart, and shall do so till the day of my death.

My music is my voice, my truth.

A composer must not be afraid to experiment and risk everything.

Music transcends all barriers.

Do not fear the work, for art always comes from the heart.

I know of no more sacred duty than to rear and educate a child.

A great composer will always find new ways to surprise the listener.

The greatest musicians are those who have the courage to break from tradition.

A true artist does not wait for inspiration; he creates it.

It is in silence that I hear the most profound music.

Is it not beautiful?

I have no time for trivialities. Only music is worthy of my time.

I am not a servant of fashion; I am a servant of music.

Music is not an occupation; it is a calling.

A life spent making music is never wasted.

I liked your opera. I think I will set it to music.

True greatness is in the heart, not in fame.

I am not afraid to fail. I am afraid to never try.

Art requires discipline, but it also demands that you listen to your heart.

Even in darkness, the soul can find its way through music.

Handel, to him I bow the knee.

I am as a tree that grows up alone but produces the finest fruits.

The public is never wrong; it is simply never right.

When I compose, I am no longer in the world of men.

The Music is the only corporeal introduction to the superior world of Knowledge.

Everything should be at once surprising and inevitable.

Music is the language of the gods.

We can do no more than be honest with our art.

I write for the future, not for the present.

Rossini would have been a great composer if his teacher had spanked him enough on his backside.

Music is like a dream. One that I cannot hear.

There is no true art, no true beauty, without a certain measure of suffering.

I will not be silent in the face of adversity.

My misfortune is doubly painful to me because it will result in my being misunderstood. For me there can be no recreation in the company of others, no intelligent conversation, no exchange of information with peers; only the most pressing needs can make me venture into society. I am obliged to live like an outcast.

I would rather write 10,000 notes than a single letter of the alphabet.

Music from my fourth year began to be the first of my youthful occupations. Thus early acquainted with the gracious muse who tuned my soul to pure harmonies, I became fond of her, and, as it often seemed to me, she of me.

Without music, life would be a mistake.

The guitar is a miniature orchestra in itself.

Love demands all, and has a right to all.

Hide your secret even from the closest friend; learn to be silent…

Beethoven can write music, thank God, but he can do nothing else on earth.

Life is too short for any love but the love of music.

It seemed unthinkable for me to leave the world forever before I had produced all that I felt called upon to produce.

Love, and love alone, is capable of giving thee a happier life.

Wherever you are, I am there also.

Tones sound, and roar and storm about me until I have set them down in notes.

A great poet is the most precious gem in the world.

I shall seize fate by the throat.

Mistakes – mistakes – you yourself are a unique mistake!

This is the mark of a really admirable man: steadfastness in the face of trouble.

What you are, you are by accident of birth; what I am, I am by myself. There are and will be a thousand princes; there is only one Beethoven.

The more I get to know men, the more I love dogs.

Music is the electric soil in which the spirit thinks, lives and invents. All that’s electrical stimulates the mind to flowing surging musical creation. I am electrical by nature.

Only the pure of heart can make a good soup.

I shall hear in heaven.

A great poet is the most precious jewel of a nation.

Art! Who comprehends her? With whom can one consult concerning this great goddess?

Ever thine, ever mine, ever ours.

The amount of money one needs is terrifying.

Then let us all do what is right, strive with all our might toward the unattainable, develop as fully as we can the gifts God has given us, and never stop learning.

Friends applaud, the comedy is over.

The barriers of sound, of music, can lead to the soul.

Music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from the eyes of woman.

All my life I have regarded myself as one of Mozart’s greatest admirers, and I will remain one until my last breath.

I know no other sign of superiority than Goodness.

Nothing is more intolerable than to have to admit to yourself your own errors.

I will not put up with any obstacles in my way.

There is no greater pleasure for me than to practice and exhibit my art.

I would rather write 10,000 notes than a single letter of the alphabet.

To play without passion is inexcusable!

O, you men who think or say that I am malevolent, stubborn or misanthropic, how greatly do you wrong me. You do not know the secret cause which makes me seem that way to you, and I would have ended my life – it was only my art that held me back. Ah, it seemed impossible to leave the world until I had brought forth all that I felt was within me.

You should not only play the notes, you should feel the music.

From the glow of enthusiasm I let the melody escape. I pursue it. Breathless I catch up with it. It flies again, it disappears, it plunges into a chaos of diverse emotions. I catch it again, I seize it, I embrace it with delight… I multiply it by modulations, and at last I triumph in the first theme. There is the whole symphony.

Music is the one incorporeal entrance into the higher world of knowledge which comprehends mankind but which mankind cannot comprehend.

Only art and science can raise men to the level of God.

Music comes to me more readily than words.

I am not made for the world. My spirit is too large.

Plaudite, amici, comedia finita est. (Applaud, my friends, the comedy is over.)

Recommend to your children virtue; that alone can make them happy, not gold.

What I have in my heart and soul – must find a way out. That’s the reason for music.

The true artist is not proud: he unfortunately sees that art has no limits; he feels darkly how far he is from the goal, and though he may be admired by others, he is sad not to have reached that point to which his better genius only appears as a distant, guiding sun.

To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable.

Fate gave to man the courage of endurance.

I love a tree more than a man.

Music can change the world.

Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life.

I will seize fate by the throat; it shall never wholly overcome me.

Music is … A higher revelation than all Wisdom & Philosophy.

Don’t regard yourself as too divine to improve, occasionally, your own works.

Don’t only practice your art, but force your way into its secrets; art deserves that, for it and knowledge can raise man to the Divine.

Music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from the eyes of woman.